About

Our People

Home / About Education First / Our People

We are practitioners, first and foremost

Our greatest asset is our people. We have deep, practical expertise earned through our on-the-ground experience as former teachers, district and state education leaders, policy advisors, strategists and grantmakers. The one thing we all have in common is our commitment to delivering the highest standard of quality as we partner with our clients to serve their students and communities.

Executive Leadership

Jenn Vranek professional headshot
Jenn Vranek

Founding Partner
Carl Christopher
Carl Christopher

Partner and Chief Finance and Revenue Officer
Ila Deshmukh Towery
Ila Deshmukh Towery

Partner
Bill Horwath
Bill Horwath

Managing Partner
professional headshot for Kelly James
Kelly James

Partner
Rashidah Lopez Morgan professional headshot
Rashidah Lopez Morgan

Partner
John Luczak
John Luczak

Partner
Aneesha Badrinarayan

Principal Consultant
Professional headshot
Brad Bernatek

Principal and Senior Director of Growth and Strategic Engagement
Sheila Briggs
Sheila Briggs

Principal Consultant
Professional headshot
Tara Czupryk

Principal Consultant
Ann Duffy
Ann Duffy

Principal Consultant
Kelly Kovacic Duran
Kelly Kovacic Duran

Principal Consultant
Roneeta Guha
Roneeta Guha

Principal Consultant
Shayla Hamilton
Shayla Hamilton

Senior Director of Business Operations
Khaled Ismail
Khaled Ismail

Principal Consultant
Shenkiat Lim
Shenkiat Lim

Chief People & Equity Officer
Chad Rubalcaba
Chad Rubalcaba

Principal and Senior Director of Consulting Practice
male headshot
Spencer Sherman

Principal Consultant

Celena Siprajim
Celena Siprajim

Principal Consultant
Professional headshot
Anand Vaishnav

Principal and Senior Director of Consulting Practice
Damien White
Damien White

Principal Consultant

Consultants and Operations

Joe Anderson
Joe Anderson

Senior Consultant
Hannah Bartlebaugh
Hannah Bartlebaugh

Consultant
Sarah Begeman
Sarah Begeman

Senior Consultant
Chawanna_Chambers
Chawanna Bethany Chambers

Senior Consultant
Ashley Clark
Ashley Clark

Director of Talent Management
Dana Duggan
Dana Duggan

Senior Manager of Administrative Operations
Amy_Edwards
Amy Edwards

Executive Assistant
Grace Epler
Grace Epler

Director of Learning & Development
Emma_Fortier
Emma Fortier

Associate Consultant

Sydney Ganon
Sydney Ganon

Director of Innovation
Patricia Higgins
Patricia Higgins

Communications Lead
Jack Hill
Jack Hill

Consultant
Kelly_Jasiura
Kelly Jasiura

Associate Consultant
Professional headshot
Juan Jimenez 

Senior Consultant
Christina Johnson

Executive Assistant
headshot
Olivia Kelly

Associate
Amanda Kim
Amanda Kim

Executive Assistant
Kate Kramer
Kate Kramer

Director, People Analytics & Talent Strategy
Senna Lamba
Senna Lamba

Associate Consultant
Yeonjae Lee
Yeonjae Lee

Consultant
Rosybell Maria
Rosybell Maria

Consultant
Professional headshot
Leanne Marshall

Executive Assistant
Aline Matias
Aline Matias

Consultant
Sarina Sheth Noone
Sarina Sheth Noone

Associate Consultant
Ashley Mac Owens
Mac Owens

Finance Manager
Joselin Padron-Rasines
Joselin Padron-Rasines

Senior Consultant
Josh Parker
Josh Parker

Senior Consultant

Allison_Pennington
Allison Pennington

Director of Business Development
susie pham headshot
Susie Pham

Consultant
Bill Porter
Bill Porter

Partner Emeritus
Dave Powell
Dave Powell

Senior Consultant
Professional headshot
Danielle Puller

Director of Human Resources
Loren Sanchez
Loren Sanchez

Executive Assistant
Emnet_Shibre
Emnet Shibre

Associate Consultant
Aseal Tineh
Aseal Tineh

Senior Consultant
Katie Larkin
Katie Warren

Human Resource Associate
Professional headshot
Ashley Wilson

Executive Assistant

What’s next? Action steps to help you benefit from our expertise:

Work with us Gain insights Learn about our expertise