Dean Katharine Strunk has a bold vision for the future of Penn GSE that builds on the School’s strengths, responds to pressing needs, and aims to change the world.
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The People Behind the Policies
Penn GSE alumni have advised politicians, worked in the White House and the statehouse, and spurred change in our nation’s schools and universities thanks to their evidence-backed expertise in education policy.
A look back at Penn GSE’s first-of-its-kind master’s program in education entrepreneurship in honor of its recent milestone birthday.
Faces of Philanthropy: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The late professor and dean William B. Castetter is still supporting Penn GSE students and their educational changemaking thanks to a bequest he made to the School.
Photo credit: Eric Sucar, University Communications
Letter from the Dean
Dear Alumni and Friends,
I have spent the last year and a half in deep conversation with our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners, developing a strategic vision—not just to shape the future of Penn GSE, but to imagine the future of education itself. This issue of the magazine celebrates that vision, and I’m excited to share it with you. As you explore our priorities, I invite you to reflect: Where do you see yourself in them, and how does your work advance our shared vision?
Penn GSE has always been more than the sum of its parts— more than its 39 programs, 319 faculty and staff members, 1,672 students, and 20,000-plus alumni. We are a place where teachers, leaders, scholars, and educational changemakers hone and leverage their expertise to realize transformational change in education and, by doing so, uplift communities worldwide. We are calling our new strategic vision Together for Good because it reflects not only our collective commitment to impact, but the reality that it will take all of us—across roles, professions, and borders—to make it happen.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Our dreams are bold, and the challenges ahead are real. In this moment of both great promise and peril in education, we need everyone—all of you reading this—to help us shape the educational future we have envisioned. As you, our alumni and supporters, lead, teach, research, counsel, plan, and innovate in virtually every sector and across 90 countries, you bring Penn GSE’s vision to life—advancing our mission, shaping education, and creating real change every day. I am eager to harness your expertise and urge you to collaborate with us: mentor students, partner with programs, speak on campus, visit classes, attend events. There are countless ways to connect your work with ours as we strive toward our shared goals.
I hope you’ll read the cover story on page 11 and consider how your work aligns with our plans. Then reach out with your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions—either by emailing us at together@gse.upenn.edu or via the form at www.gse.upenn.edu/ together. I’ll also be traveling on a dean’s tour to share Together for Good with the broader Penn community, and I hope you’ll join me at an event near you to continue the conversation.
Individually, we are many. But together, we are One Penn GSE. We can do great things. And with this new strategic vision to guide us, I know we will.
All best,
Dean, Penn Graduate School of Education
George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education
Designed by Bold Type Creative Copyedited by Colleen Heavens
Board of Advisors
Jeffrey S. McKibben, W’93, Chair
Deborah L. Ancona, C’76, GED’77
Olumoroti G. Balogun, GED’19, GRD’20
Brett H. Barth, W’93
Allison J. Blitzer, C’91
Harlan B. Cherniak, W’01
Jolley Bruce Christman, GED’71, GR’87
Webster B. Chua, W’04
Samara E. Cohen, C’93, W’93
Beth S. Ertel, W’88, WG’92
Evan S. Feinberg, W’09
Jeffrey L. Goldberg, W’83, WG’89
Patricia Grant, GED’01, GRD’04
John A. Henry
Alexander B. Hurst, C’01
Heather Ibrahim-Leathers, W’95
Andrew H. Jacobson, WG’93
Douglas R. Korn, W’84
Gregory A. Milken, C’95
Andrea J. Pollack, C’83, L’87, GED’17
David N. Roberts, W’84
Francisco J. Rodriguez, W’93
Molly P. Rouse-Terlevich, C’90, GED’00
Michael J. Sorrell, GRD’15
Navin M. Valrani, W’93, GED’18, GED’22, GRD’23
Steven M. Wagshal, W’94
NONDISCRIMINATION
Editor’s note: This issue of Penn GSE Magazine went to print on November 30, 2024.
Learning While Black and Queer: Understanding the Educational Experiences of Black LGBTQ+ Youth
By Ed Brockenbrough
Published July 2024
Harvard Education Press
FACULTY BOOKSHELF
Becoming the System: A Raciolinguistic Genealogy of Bilingual Education in the Post–Civil Rights Era
By Nelson Flores
Published July 2024
Oxford University Press
Politics and Knowledge Shaping Educational Reform: Case Studies from Around the Globe
Edited by Colleen McLaughlan and Alan Ruby
Published December 2024
Cambridge University Press
NEWS & AWARDS
Katie Barghaus (1), John Fantuzzo (2), and Vivian Gadsden (3) have been awarded a W. K. Kellogg Foundation grant for their project “A Research-Practice Partnership to Achieve Greater Equity in Early Childhood Education Access.” The grant supports the Penn Early Childhood and Family Research Center’s longstanding partnership with the City of Philadelphia to conduct a citywide, post-COVID investigation of disparities in neighborhood access to quality preschool education. The partnership also aims to create a comprehensive, evidence-based performance framework for the City-funded preschool program.
A. Brooks Bowden (4) was honored with the Early Career Alumni Award from Columbia University Teachers College at an event in October.
Bruce Campbell (5) wrote a chapter, “Cultivating a Rebel Without a Pause,” in Essays on Music, Adolescence, and Identity: The Adolescentia Project (edited by Mary Beth Ray), which was published in June by Palgrave Macmillan.
Caroline Ebby (6) and collaborators Liz Cunningham (University of MichiganFlint) and Traci Kutaka (University of Virginia) received an Institute of Education Sciences grant to examine how teacher-preparation programs that incorporate an explicit focus on learning progressions can nurture novice teachers’ capacity to elicit, interpret, and respond to students’ mathematical thinking and how this practice continues to take shape through teachers’ earliest years in the profession.
Michael Gottfried (7) earned a Walton Family Foundation grant to study chronic absenteeism in rural communities with the aim of disseminating insights that inform policymaking and practical implementation strategies.
Zachary Herrmann (8) earned two grants: one from the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University to design and launch the Penn Leadership Education Institute, and one from the Penn Environmental Innovations Initiative for the Center for Professional Learning’s ProjectBased Learning for Global Climate Justice initiative. He also received a Wharton Teaching Excellence Award for his teaching in the Wharton MBA program.
Laura Perna (9) was honored with the 2024 Research Achievement Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education for her influential work on college affordability and equity, particularly for minoritized students, which has been cited nearly 20,000 times.
A team led by Howard Stevenson (10) earned a Projects for Progress grant from Penn’s Office of Social Equity and Community for CROPS for HEALING, which uses racial literacy to protect Black and Brown youth from the harm of hate; prepare them to use their identity stories to confront dehumanization in relationships and schools and teach their peers; and improve their academic engagement and achievement. These grants, now in their fourth year, offer up to $100,000 of support to Penn teams piloting practical projects that address social justice issues in Philadelphia.
Jonathan Zimmerman (11) testified at a congressional briefing in September about the report from the American Historical Association, “American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools.”
NEWS BRIEFS
Education Business Plan Competition Winners Announced
The 15th annual Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) brought together seven finalists to pitch their ventures to a live judging panel and an audience of investors, researchers, and practitioners during the HolonIQ Back to School Summit in New York City in September.
Say It Labs, which develops video games that combine artificial intelligence and speech therapy to support children with speech disorders, captured both the $40,000 Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize and the Osage Venture Partners Audience Choice Prize.
“The innovative solutions presented by this year’s winners are a testament to the enormous potential of the future of education,” said Michael Golden, GRD’07, vice dean of innovative programs and partnerships at Penn GSE. “These entrepreneurs are not only addressing today’s challenges but are also paving the way for the next generation of learners. Their success is a reflection of the creativity and commitment that drives the education sector forward.”
Other winners included Mumbai-based Saturday Art Class, which won the $25,000 Cognativ Inc. Prize for developing socialemotional skills through visual arts education in Indian schools, and Honest Game, which earned the $10,000 Magnitude Digital Prize for its software and services platform that helps navigate the complex world of college athletic eligibility and recruiting. All seven finalists received a portion of $50,000 in Amazon Web Services credits and $1,500 cash each from Catalyst @ Penn GSE.
New Partnership Brings Math Peer Tutoring Program to Rural Students
This fall, Penn GSE partnered with edtech startup Thinkist to bring their evidence-based math tutoring program to school districts serving predominantly rural student populations across Pennsylvania. Run by the Penn Literacy Network with support from Catalyst, the program launched in September to train 1,840 rural high school students in grades 10–12 to become peer tutors to 3,680 students in grades 6–11 over the next four years.
Successful completion of the training qualifies tutors for up to six undergraduate credits and a peer tutoring certificate from the University of Pennsylvania. The aim is to raise student achievement and increase the rates of college application, enrollment, matriculation, and success for rural students statewide.
“We are incredibly excited to expand our reach and offer high school students across Pennsylvania the opportunity to learn what it truly means to step into the role of a teacher,” said Penn Literacy Network Executive Director Lara Paparo, GED’06, GRD’22. “This program is more than just tutoring—it’s about empowering students to make a meaningful impact in their communities. This partnership allows us to deliver high-quality training and resources that not only improve student achievement, but also foster leadership, academic growth, and a sense of community—all key ingredients in cultivating the next generation of educators.”
The project will also create and disseminate resources aimed at supporting college success and readiness, which will be available to all students in participating districts. In addition to the 4,771 primary beneficiaries, college-readiness activities each spring and fall semester will impact an estimated 16,000-plus secondary school students from across the state, reflecting 10 percent of students attending rural high schools across Pennsylvania.
From left: Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships Michael Golden, Kim Michelson and Joyce Anderson (both of Honest Game), Erich Reiter (Say It Labs), Manasi Mehan (Saturday Art Class), Dean Katharine Strunk, and Catalyst Director of Innovative Programs and Entrepreneur-in-Residence John Gamba.
Photo credit: Ryan Collerd
Penn Literacy Network Executive Director Lara Paparo (right) speaks on a panel with Thinkist CEO Jared Wells and CLO Mark Manasse at a conference hosted by Catalyst in June. | Photo credit: Ryan Collerd for Penn GSE
One Book, One GSE
The 2024–2025 selection for the “One Book, One GSE” School-wide shared reading program is Lara Hope Schwartz’s Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Classrooms and Life. Schwartz is founding director of the Project on Civil Discourse at American University and teaches in their School of Public Affairs. Her work focuses on campus speech and fostering an environment of respectful dialogue in educational settings. Her book, an essential guide to civil discourse in college classrooms and beyond, was chosen as the shared book selection by GSE’s Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion for the fifth year of “One Book, One GSE,” and is the basis of a year-long community conversation series.
Organized by Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Raquel Arredondo, those events include a kickoff talk by the author, this year’s Visiting Scholars Speakers Series, a host of targeted Community Circle conversations, and several book-specific discussions facilitated by faculty and staff from across the University. They will continue through the end of the academic year.
New Certificate Program Launches
This fall, Penn GSE welcomed the first class of students in the new Early Childhood Education and Family Studies certificate program, made possible by a $5 million gift from the Suzanne McGraw Foundation.
The inaugural cohort features 16 graduate students from across the University, six of whom are recipients of related scholarships that were also supported by McGraw’s foundation. All of the new participants got to know each other and learn more about their program during a special group orientation at the beginning of the academic year.
This new program also includes related cross-disciplinary programming aimed at cultivating a new generation of highly skilled educators, leaders, researchers, and policymakers who are optimally positioned to serve young children and those who care for them. Co-faculty Program Directors Vivian Gadsden and Sharon Wolf, C’06, launched a speaker series in partnership with GSE’s Early Childhood and Family Research Center that, so far, has sponsored two talks with visiting guest experts: one with J. Lawrence Aber of New York University and one featuring Temple University’s Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek and University of Delaware’s Roberta Golinkoff.
New Grant Funds School District Partnership for
College and Career
Readiness
Penn GSE’s Office of School and Community Engagement (OSCE) secured a $3.5 million award to partner with the School District of Philadelphia, the Consortium for Policy Research and Education, and the education nonprofit Foundations, Inc. to launch an innovative five-year, cohort-based college and career readiness model, the Academy at Penn. This initiative will provide year-round academic and social-emotional supports and postsecondary exploration opportunities to 200 students from two Philadelphia high schools.
The Academy at Penn’s responsive, interdisciplinary model aims to address barriers that historically underserved students face in pursuing higher education and career goals, paying close attention to the unique needs of students impacted by trauma and those who are the first in their families to attend postsecondary schooling.
Participating students will take part in a range of inschool, after-school, weekend, and summer activities that promote academic success, well-being, belonging, and future readiness. At the end of their high school journey, participating students will be supported through the transition to college or the workforce.
NOMINATE
an exceptional member of our community!
Submit your nomination by February 9 for the 2025 Education Alumni Awards.
Recipients will be recognized at the Celebration of Educators during Alumni Weekend on May 17. penng.se/nomination
Photo credit: Ryan Collerd for Penn GSE and Penn Children’s Center, Division of Business Services
From left: Dean Katharine Strunk, author Lara Hope Schwartz, Assistant Dean for DEIB Raquel Arredondo, and Graduate Assistant Tolulope Olasewere. | Photo courtesy of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
POLICY CORNER
Penn GSE experts on the educational headlines of the moment
By Rebecca Raber \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
THE HEADLINE
Teacher Shortages Continue to Plague the US
THE STORY
Research has shown that teachers are the single most important school-level factor for student success. Unfortunately, at the start of this school year, tens of thousands of teaching positions across the country were vacant or filled with underprepared teachers with emergency certifications. Florida, for example, began the term with more than 5,000 vacancies and with 5,000 classrooms without professionally trained teachers, according to the Florida Education Association. And the outlook for the future isn’t much better. High schoolers’ interest in the profession is down 50 percent since 1990, and the number of people across the US earning a teaching license each year plummeted by more than 100,000 from 2006 to 2021.
THE EXPERT
Associate Professor Sarah Schneider Kavanagh is the director of Penn GSE’s Collaboratory for Teaching and Teacher Education. A former middle and high school teacher, she is an expert in teacher education, instructional coaching, and professional development. This past summer, she and former Penn GSE dean Pam Grossman hosted a convening on “Strengthening Pathways into the Teaching Profession,” part of an ongoing series bringing together stakeholders to tackle the related problems of the teacher shortage.
HER TAKE
“Historically, in the face of teacher shortages, the standards of entry into the teaching profession are lowered,” said Kavanagh. “The danger of lowering standards of entry is you end up exacerbating problems long-term. Lowering entry standards makes teaching into an unsustainable profession because new hires wind up being unprepared for the job and they leave quickly. Over the long term, it makes the profession less professional, which makes it a less desirable career option for the next generation. The short-term solution to the problem of a shortage winds up having long-term ramifications.”
The August event that she helped convene on campus explored the tension between the urgency of needing teachers in classrooms immediately and the long-term benefits—not just for students, but for the teaching profession overall—of waiting to find or train the right teachers for the job.
“We want specific teachers—teachers who look like the kids in the room, teachers who are highly prepared, really good at their jobs—to do the work,” she said. “It’s actually a much more complicated issue than just getting bodies in rooms.”
Quality teacher preparation is key. Debate has persisted for years about whether training is crucial for teacher development or needless “red tape” that’s keeping aspiring educators from filling urgent vacancies. But, said Kavanagh, the research shows that teacher preparation is not only good for the teachers, but also for their students.
“Having some preparation to go into the profession—getting a credential—means that your kids are more likely to achieve,” she said. “Standardized test scores aren’t the only important measure, but if that’s the measure you’re looking at, you want your kids to have a teacher who is certified.”
But, she warned, not all training programs are alike. The for-profit teacher preparation programs that have recently proliferated online may not be leading to the same student success as other types of certification programs.
“It’s a new area for research, but emerging research shows fully online for-profit certification programs look much more like no certification when it comes to [student test] scores,” she said.
So, how do we ensure a well-trained, diverse stream of educators are in the pipeline, especially during this time of great need?
“We have to figure out how to not make it so expensive to get certified,” said Kavanagh. “Do states offer loan forgiveness for teacher prep? Do they partner with universities so that the cost of their programs doesn't fall on the students? . . . You’ve got to make sure that the cost of entering the profession doesn’t fall on the young person who wants to teach, and then, you have to make sure districts are compensating teachers adequately once they’re [in the classroom]. That’s a solvable problem from the level of state and federal policy. People are making reasonable decisions not to enter teaching, and we can change the math of that reasonable decision.”
Photo credit: Joe McFetridge for Penn GSE
Teaching Literacy in Prison Jeanne Smith, GED’82
By Robert Calandra
Jeanne Smith goes behind bars every day for the Vermont Department of Corrections to teach reading to incarcerated people. It is the latest step on a long career path that the literacy specialist first embarked upon 40 years ago when, as an undergrad, she joined a work-study program teaching adult literacy in Philadelphia community centers.
“I was stunned when I started that job,” she said. “These folks could not read—a basic skill most of us take for granted. They were there because they wanted to learn. It made me want to become an educator.”
Graduating with a degree in psychology, Smith continued working with the adult literacy program as an AmeriCorps volunteer. But she was self-taught, researching her own reading materials and trying different methods to improve her skills and help her students. Seeking more formal training, she applied to Penn GSE.
“I didn’t know much about education, so I was really soaking it up,” she said of her time at Penn GSE. “All my professors were great, and I really loved being in the Penn community.”
Smith received her master’s degree in reading and language arts, and then worked for several years as a literacy education director in Philadelphia.
Twelve years ago, she applied for a teaching position with the Vermont Department of Corrections. And though she had taught reading to scores of children and adults in classrooms, after-school programs, reading clinics, and community centers, she admitted she was initially intimidated by her newest students.
“I had to remember that these were people who . . . made mistakes and were trying to get their lives back,” she said.
Smith quickly became the go-to teacher for those who needed the most literacy support, many of whom came from backgrounds scarred by domestic violence and sexual abuse.
“Those were really the ones I was most concerned about,” she said. “I knew they were going to continue to have the worst time trying to get anywhere in life without support, help, and education.”
Four years into the job, Smith was asked to create a system-wide literacy program, transforming what was once a hodgepodge of teaching methods into a science-based, step-by-step adult education program. The program is required for inmates 23 years old and younger but is open to all who could benefit from it.
“After we developed a curriculum for the adult basic education (ABE) skill level, we were able to clearly state what was needed for a solid program,” she said.
It has taken time, and progress has come in fits and starts, but the Vermont correctional education program is now firmly established and includes not just ABE, but also a GED program, a high school diploma program, and a workforce education program. Currently, there are 20 students enrolled in reading and writing and 44 in study skills. Smith herself teaches six students and has two new referrals.
“It will grow,” she said. “The referral process, classes, assessments protocols, syllabi, and training have taken a good, long time to put in place. We now have staff trained in basic skills in all six facilities [across the state].”
There are already a few success stories. One of Smith’s students, Joe, had a high school diploma but was reading below the sixth-grade level. He wanted to get a commercial driver’s license (CDL) but had trouble understanding some of the words in the state’s CDL manual. Smith used the manual to teach him decoding skills. That kind of innovation and flexibility is crucial when teaching literacy to adults.
“You have to do more in-depth teaching of language structures,” she said. “You have to also bring in more multisensory approaches to processing language, such as magnet tiles that students move around. It gives the brain more to grasp onto to process how the language works.”
Smith is building a library of topics of interest and specific book titles for younger students. But, one thing she needs even more than books, she said, is more research on teaching adult literacy, especially for those behind bars.
“I would like . . . to really have more scholars of education do research in adult literacy, including [for] people in prison,” she said. “There isn’t enough to guide us.”
Photo credit: Stina Booth
Our Alums in Their Spaces
Sarah Budlow, GED’23
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, HONORABLE LUIS MUÑOZ-MARIN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Sarah Budlow loves teaching kindergarten.
“There’s so much growth from the beginning of the year to the end, when they can read and write,” she said. “I get to be there when they have so many aha moments!”
But Budlow, who is in her second year at Muñoz-Marin Elementary in North Philadelphia and her fourth as a teacher, didn’t always know that she would be guiding some of the littlest learners. The dance and public health and human behavior double major said she graduated from the University of Maryland with a lot of interests but no clear career path. (And the fact that she graduated—virtually—in that first locked-down spring of the pandemic certainly didn’t help.)
In the year that followed, she tried out different jobs—census taker, election volunteer, restaurant worker—but the one that felt most comfortable was teaching dance at a socially distanced summer camp for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore.
“I had done a thesis in undergrad about performing arts in urban education spaces, and I [enjoyed] teaching dance, so I thought, ‘Maybe I should apply for Teach for America, because it combines a lot of my interests?’ But I hadn’t really considered being a teacher before that.”
Between her Teach for America assignment in a second-grade classroom at KIPP’s West Philadelphia Elementary Academy and her concurrent night classes as part of Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency (UTR), Budlow realized not only that she wanted to work in education, but that she could make the biggest impact on the youngest students.
“They are so excited once they learn that they can do things on their own, because when they first come to class, they don’t know how to tie their shoes and they maybe sometimes need a reminder to go to the bathroom,” she said. “The first thing a lot my students tell me is, ‘I just want you to know, I don’t know how to read.’ And I’m like, ‘It’s OK, that’s the whole point of this year. We’re going to learn together.’”
During the first week of the new school year, as she prepared for her 15 new kindergarteners, Budlow welcomed us into her cheerful, sunlit classroom to share some of the items that have meant the most to her on her journey in early childhood education.
1 Pillow and Puppets
The “Never Give Up” pillow was a hand-me-down from a teacher who was leaving my school after my first year. It was in her calm-down, cozy corner. I went “shopping” in the stuff she was giving away and picked it out for my own cozy corner. I want my students to feel like learning and reading is comfortable, and that you can get cozy and do it, and it’s fun. The puppets are their reading buddies. They take a puppet and a book and read the story to their puppet buddy. It helps kids develop their reading skills when they practice reading out loud. The puppets are a fun way to build that skill.
2 Tutu
I run a ballet club here at Muñoz-Marin. I’ve actually run a ballet club at every school I’ve worked at, and it’s a point of pride that the ballet club is still going strong at KIPP—I got another teacher to run it. I started the club because my undergrad research showed me how beneficial extracurricular arts programming is for kids’ socioemotional learning and how it can contribute to their academic success. When I did my master’s research, I did a case study on my ballet club, and I got to hear more from students about the ways this after-school arts programming impacted them. We have a teacher here who has daughters who do ballet, and she loves to make the costumes, so she made costumes for our ballet club. But on the day of the performance one kid didn’t show up, so I wore her costume. That was my tutu for the ballet show.
4 Manila Folder of Drawings and Letters
This is me at my Penn graduation with Jen Valerio, GRD’24, (left) and Gill Maimon (right). They taught my “Methods” class in UTR. The program has a lot of first-year teachers, and everyone is working in the classroom while they’re in school. And we would come into class on Tuesday nights, and it was good for the soul, because they would help us with skills we could use in the classroom the next day. Something we examined deeply in class that really impacts my teaching practice is that all kids are “math people” and “reading people.” They are capable of so much, and we, as the adults in their village, have to do our best to foster an environment where they can succeed. We also learned a lot about how to care for the whole child, creating a strong academic community where kids know they are important and that what they think and feel matters. I feel like it was in that class that I realized I really like teaching, and I really want to stay in education.
Jen Valerio told me—and I also read articles about it in one of my classes at Penn—that a lot of teachers who stay in the profession for a long time have different strategies for when things get tough, and one of them is to have “a happy folder.”
It’s an easily accessible place where you keep notes from kids or parents and drawings. I started one, and it is helpful. I make a memory book each year with my class, and that’s in here, too.
3 Framed Commencement Photo
View from Campus
A FAN-TASTIC VISIT
Entrepreneur and startup mentor Fan Deng—founder of Fan Shu, the biggest online reading club in China with more than 120 million followers—visited campus in September. Students in Penn GSE’s Education Entrepreneurship master’s program were eager to meet with the international celebrity (seen here, center right, giving a thumbs up) during their first on-campus intensive of the fall semester, during which Fan Deng talked about low-cost scalability, risk-taking, and the importance of founder happiness to venture success.
HONORING EDUCATIONAL TRAILBLAZERS
On November 13, at the Morgan Library in New York City, Edmund W. Gordon, Jody Lewen, and Robert Lerman received the 2024 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. They were nominated by their peers for their innovative work transforming education. Gordon for his six decades of championing supplementary education for preK–12th graders, including the federal Head Start program; Lewen for founding and leading Mount Tamalpais College, an accredited, degree-granting institution within San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; and Lerman for transforming pathways to acquiring job-related skills and co-founding Apprenticeships for America. Pictured here (from left) Lewen, Harold McGraw III, WG’76, Dean Strunk, Lerman, Gordon, and Michael Golden. Learn more about their inspiring work: penng.se/mcgraw24
WRITING THE FUTURE
The Philadelphia Writing Project’s annual Celebration of Writing and Literacy, presented by and for local educators, was held this year at the Penn Museum around the theme of “Teaching, Learning, and Doing in the Age of AI.” The event featured workshops on how to creatively and responsibly integrate AI and other technology into schools and pedagogy, a keynote by Stanford’s Antero Garcia, and a poster session (shown here) featuring the work of Philadelphia teachers on topics from creating shadow puppet stories with digital tools to AI-powered simulations for difficult conversations.
Homecoming brings together alumni, students, faculty, and staff to reconnect and learn, so this year’s event was a fitting opportunity for Dean Katharine Strunk to publicly launch her strategic vision, Together for Good, among an audience of community members who will help bring it to life. School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. was on hand for a fireside chat with the dean that covered the existential threats posed by the national teacher shortage and the ways in which graduate schools of education can partner with local districts to recruit, support, and retain educators so that all students can thrive. Learn more: penng.se/hc24
Photo credit: Jane Lindahl
Photo credit: Darryl W. Moran Photography
PHILLY STAKES
Photo credit: HKB Photography
Photo credit: Steve Belkowitz
Dean Strunk Looks Ahead
Dean Katharine Strunk has a bold vision for the future of Penn GSE that builds on the School’s strengths, responds to pressing needs, and aims to change the world.
Katharine Strunk joined Penn GSE as dean last year because she wanted to have an impact. As a researcher, she had spent her career pursuing community-engaged scholarship in partnership with school districts and state departments of education, providing them with evidence to inform their policies. As a leader, she aimed to continue that kind of consequential work on a larger scale. Penn GSE, she reasoned, was the best place for it.
“Penn is a place where you do work that is intended to be applied,” she said. “We have some of the most brilliant scholars in the world housed here, but the difference is that we are not doing this research just to add more knowledge for knowledge’s sake. We are actually thinking about how we use that knowledge to improve the lives of learners and educators throughout the world. Everything we do here is intended to feed back into our communities—whether they’re here in Philadelphia, across the country, or across the globe.”
To that end, Dean Strunk spent her first year at Penn GSE in conversation with faculty, staff, students, and alumni to seek input for a plan for the School’s future that they could all work towards together. The result is a strategic vision for the next decade, Together for Good: A Vision for Transformational Impact, that expands the work Penn GSE is already doing, responds to urgent needs in the field of education, and inspires lasting change.
“This strategic vision is intended to build on GSE’s existing strengths and think about how we push them forward into the future,” she said. “We asked, from the very beginning of this whole strategic-visioning process, not just where do we want GSE to be in 10 years, but where do we want education to be in 10 years? And then, how do we not just meet that moment, but how do we make that moment?”
By Rebecca Raber
The plan is built around four main priorities: preparing and sustaining the educator workforce; fostering community engagement in Philadelphia, across the country, and around the world; innovating for the public good; and elevating education’s role in democratic society. These priorities cut across all areas of the School, its people, programs, scholarship, and mission. They are engineered to leverage and grow
expertise, research, and programming that are already thriving at Penn GSE. And, most importantly, they represent crucial ways to improve the lives of students, educators, communities, and the fields of teaching and learning—both today and for a future we cannot yet even imagine.
“Our strategic vision is aspirational, but it’s also achievable,” she said. “But it’s going to take hard work. It’s going to take focus. It’s going to take everybody rowing in the same direction.”
Dean Strunk is ready to help steer that ship. She sees the role of the dean as empowering the School’s faculty and staff to “do the work that they do best,” while providing them with the resources they need to do the most significant research, support the most students, impact the most communities, and—in short—spur the most positive change.
“In 10 years, my hope is that we have changed the world,” she said. “I know that that sounds grandiose and unlikely, but I don’t think it is. We have the potential at GSE to do the work that reduces inequity and ensures more people can learn and succeed in a just and thriving society. . . . It’s time for real change, and I think that Penn GSE is poised to do it.” ■
Photo credit:
Eric Sucar, University Communications
BUILD
PREPARE AND SUSTAIN A DIVERSE, HIGHLY SKILLED EDUCATION WORKFORCE FROM PRE-K THROUGH POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
Preparing teachers and leaders has always been a cornerstone of Penn GSE’s mission.
“We have the best programs in the country already,” said Dean Strunk. “But we have a role to play in making sure that we continue to strengthen the educator workforce. Not just for teachers—who are, of course, critically important—but also for leaders and school counselors. We train everybody within the education workforce here at GSE, and we have a responsibility as a top school of education to do it as best as we can and as accessibly as we can for the most people.”
Penn GSE has long been a pioneer in educator preparation, with cutting-edge programs that emphasize hands-on training, research-based practices, and—with the School’s own Philadelphia neighbors in mind—a deep commitment to urban education. Those programs span traditional master’s and doctoral programs, as well as executive-format leadership training and non-degree professional learning.
“We are constantly working on improving our preparation of teachers,” said Patrick Sexton, executive director of Penn GSE’s three different experiential-learning teacher-education programs. “We assess everything that we do right after we do it . . . Because we’re a research-intensive institution, we’re always evaluating the work that we’re doing for its long-term impacts and the implications for the rest of the field.”
Sexton proudly noted that the markers of the programs’ success are evident in the numbers of graduates who return to mentor the next generation of teachers that Penn GSE is helping to create.
“When we go into schools and we look for new mentors, who’s raising their hand?” he said. “It’s our graduates saying, ‘Yes, I want to give back. I want to help, because I can see that the preparation that I got at Penn GSE helped my students learn, and I want that for all the rest of the students in this school, in my community, in our city.”
Research has shown that good teachers are the single most consequential school-based factor in a child’s success, and
effective school leadership is the best way to retain those good teachers. But right now, there aren’t enough good teachers or leaders, especially in the under-resourced schools that need them the most. And the outlook for the future isn’t much better. High school students’ interest in the teaching profession has dropped by 50 percent since 1990, and the number of people earning a teaching license each year has plummeted by more than 100,000 from 2006 to 2021. Nearly one in 10 vacancies is filled by people without a standard teaching license, and 44 percent of teachers leave the profession within the first five years.
In the face of this unprecedented challenge, Penn GSE aims to offer an antidote. The strategic vision charts a future in which the education profession is respected, high-quality teacher education is accessible, and the professional pathways for both teachers and leaders are full. Penn GSE can help us get there by enhancing existing offerings to become a “one-stop shop” for lifelong career development, making educator- and leader-preparation programs more affordable and accessible to more people, and advocating for the evidence-backed policy changes that will use research to help change legislation.
“We’re working with policymakers all the time on how to collectively come together to answer the question about shortages, because teacher preparation alone can’t do it,” said Sexton. “We need to be part of the conversation.”
An elementary classroom at Penn Alexander, one of Penn GSE’s two “whole partner” schools.
Photo credit: Ryan Collerd for Penn GSE
PRIORITY TWO
COLLABORATE
COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND GLOBAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP AND PROGRAMS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
Community engagement has long been at the heart of Penn GSE. For almost a decade, its Office of School and Community Engagement (OSCE) has facilitated partnerships with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and individual local schools. It oversees a portfolio of projects from direct service programs, such as an enriched summer program that has provided academic and social service support to four local elementary schools, to systems-level support, such as the Responsive Math Teaching project’s model for inclusive math instruction. The office is also a hub for Penn GSE’s two “whole school” partnerships with the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander and Henry C. Lea schools, which integrate University resources into neighborhood schools.
Penn GSE faculty, students, and programs are engaged in roughly 400 different activities in more than 250 schools in SDP annually, said OSCE Director Caroline Watts, meaning someone from GSE touches almost every catchment area in the city.
“[The School’s] major partnership with SDP . . . takes the form of partnerships with our training programs, so that Penn GSE counselors and student teachers and reading specialists are placed throughout the district,” said Watts. “That’s a mutual kind of partnership, where we get our students trained on the job and the schools get extra personnel and resources.”
Now OSCE is poised to expand its work. This year, the office welcomed Assistant Professor Sade Bonilla as its first faculty research director overseeing its community-engaged scholarship. That work includes a collaboration between Penn GSE and SDP that leverages the School’s research expertise in service of the questions the district most wants answered.
“Being able to work with the school district on our research-to-practice partnerships is going to be a critical part of what the office does, so that we are seen not only as a resource for program development and student and faculty engagement, but that we’re a resource for answering important questions in partnership with the school district,” said Watts.
But OSCE’s Philadelphia collaborations are just one local example of Penn GSE’s community engagement. There are also collaborations with state and federal education departments, as well as international projects. Penn GSE faculty are currently engaged in partnerships in more than 60 countries. In long-standing collaborations in Mexico and Ghana, as well as in emerging ones in Serbia and Uzbekistan, the School’s faculty are partnering with local educators and communities to imagine solutions that address educational challenges.
One aim of the strategic vision is to formalize this work with a five-year global engagement strategy, coordinating different international engagement, identifying regional outreach priorities, and extending the School’s reach. Another is to make the resulting scholarship available, accessible, and digestible to ensure it informs the work of policymakers and the communities who helped create it.
“Community engagement means that we’re working with our communities . . . to do work with them, not to them,” said Dean Strunk. “That means we go to them and ask, ‘What problems are you facing? What do you need to know? What can we help you with?’ And then they help coconstruct our research agendas and our programs, so that what we’re doing meets their needs every single time.”
Dean Strunk and Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. discussed the 2023 Pennsylvania school funding lawsuit at the Steven S. Goldberg and Jolley Bruce Christman Bi-Annual Lecture in Education Law in April.
A poster in a third-grade classroom in West Philadelphia’s Lea School.
Students in the Urban Teaching Residency program guide VAST LIFE program participants through experiential-learning activities at the Franklin Institute.
Photo credit:
Daryl W. Moran Photography
Photo credit: HKB Photography
Many Penn GSE professors are already engaged in this kind of collaborative, community-based work. For example, Professor Nelson Flores, who studies the intersection of language and race in education, has been engaged in a participatory action research study alongside Latinx communities in Norristown, Pennsylvania, for two years. He and a collective from Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo y Educaçion (CCATE)—including local parents and students—have been working together to identify areas of research that would help improve educational outcomes for Latinx students. Their data collection will begin this year.
Whether in Penn GSE’s hometown or around the world, “we are seeking to effect powerful and sustainable and demonstrable change in educational and human outcomes for kids and families,” said Watts, “by being strong, present, engaged, responsive neighbors.”
PRIORITY THREE
TRANSFORM
INNOVATE BY BRIDGING THEORY AND PRACTICE TO CONDUCT EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH WITH CONSEQUENCE
"Our third priority is around innovation for the public good,” said Dean Strunk. “And this is one of the strongest areas for Penn GSE throughout its 110-year history.”
Innovation drives everything at the School—its programs, its pedagogy, its scholarship. It’s the reason Penn GSE is home to both the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition, the most well-funded competition for purpose-driven ventures, and the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, which recognizes individuals for their efforts to elevate human potential through educational leadership. It’s why, more than 10 years ago, the School launched the first ever education entrepreneurship master's program. And its why the School launched its global innovation center, Catalyst, in 2018 to connect leaders across education, business, and technology to address critical challenges in education.
“We are really fortunate that the University of Pennsylvania was founded by Ben Franklin, an inventor,” said Michael Golden, GRD’07, vice dean of innovative programs and partnerships, “so invention and innovation have been at the core of the work we’ve done since the start.”
Identifying challenges and meeting them with novel solutions requires bold, out-of-the-box thinking. So, too, does adapting to new technologies. But innovation without practical implementation is for the ivory tower,
not an institution like Penn GSE, which has always been committed to addressing real-world problems with actionable solutions.
“The key thing about the way GSE thinks about innovation is we don’t do innovation for innovation’s sake,” said
Professor Nelson Flores (top row, center) with the research collective from CCATE.
Saturday Art Class, winner of the $25,000 Cognativ Inc. Prize at the 2024 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition.
Dean Strunk. “We’re not just innovating to get the newest, coolest, highest-tech innovation. We’re actually doing things that are intended to improve the public good and the world around us.”
Those innovations include pioneering research that aims to address everything from environmental justice to the promises and perils of AI. They include making interdisciplinary collaboration the foundation of problemsolving scholarship. And they include teaching with and about the latest emerging technologies, so that GSE students know how to use them to support learning in classrooms, community centers, and even C-suites.
“We know a lot about learning science and how people learn, and it is experiential,” said Golden. “We are so excited to have a makerspace and an AV/VR lab in our new building to be able to give students the opportunity to experiment, be creative, and use technologies in new ways—to become capable and facile with those technologies and also to think how they can apply them immediately, especially in teaching and learning.”
Because all innovations must iterate, even vanguard programs need to continually evolve. To that end, Penn GSE’s online Learning Analytics master’s program, which was designed to help students develop measurement, analysis, and predictive modeling expertise, already included a considerable amount of generative AI in its curriculum. But with an increasing emphasis in that area, the program is now adding new courses and being renamed the online Learning Analytics and Artificial Intelligence master’s program.
Innovation is ever-changing, so this third priority in Together for Good is an ever-moving target. There will always be new technologies to address, new pedagogy to invent, and new research findings to put into practice. There is no endpoint to this work, and there is always more to learn. And that is just how the dean likes it.
“We need people to continue to push us, continue to check us, continue to think through with us how this vision can grow and evolve over the next 10 years, because we don’t even know today the education problems of tomorrow,” said Dean Strunk. “One of the commitments that we are making is that the strategic plan is a living document. We’re going to continue to think about the most pressing challenges that we need to address. And we will continue to address them, because that is our job.”
ELEVATE
ELEVATING EDUCATION’S ROLE WITHIN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
In these divisive times it has never been more apparent that a healthy, functioning democratic society relies on its citizens’ ability to openly express ideas, critically analyze arguments, and find shared humanity with those who are different. Penn GSE, said Dean Strunk, has an ethical duty to prepare its students with those skills.
“When I first got to Penn GSE I didn’t actually know this was a strength that we had,” she said. “And then I was talking to our faculty, and I learned about how many of them are doing this work every day, in their research and in their instruction.”
Associate Professor Abby Reisman, a national expert on social studies teacher preparation, helps teachers understand how to facilitate constructive conversations between students with different perspectives about the history and the social issues that make up the social studies curriculum. MRMJJ Presidential Professor Sigal Ben-Porath “literally wrote
Students explore uses for virtual reality in Penn GSE’s new AV/VR Lab.
Photo credit: HKB Photography
the book on free speech on campus,” according to Dean Strunk, and her work explores campus open expression policies and the ways that schools and universities can sustain and advance democracy. And Jonathan Zimmerman, the Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor of Education, is a historian of education who studies the history of free speech in schools.
“No other school of education has this kind of concentration of talent that studies this area across multiple levels,” said Dean Strunk. “We are just incredibly lucky that we have this group at this time to meet the needs that we know are coming in our polarized society.”
Like many other things we are taught in school—state capitals, algebra, how to read—participating productively in difficult conversations is a skill no one is born with.
“You have to learn how to do it,” says Ben-Porath, who is also the faculty director of Penn's Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program. “You have to prepare for that. And this is an expertise that GSE has and can provide to other parts of the University here—and [to] other universities and schools. . . . There is a need for that expertise outside of GSE, which I really think we can transfer beyond our walls.”
In 10 years, my hope is that we have changed the world. I know that that sounds grandiose and unlikely, but I don’t think it is.
—Dean Katharine Strunk
Reisman and Ben-Porath co-teach a course, “Classroom Discourse,” that draws from readings in philosophy, learning theory, and empirical research on discussion-focused classroom interventions and teacher professional development. Students explore the emotional, practical, legal, and social obstacles to classroom discourse and participate actively in exercises that help them develop skills to foster and facilitate discussion. Their class could be adapted as a model across universities and school districts.
“The research about productive classroom conversations [shows] that you start off by recognizing that in order to have a conversation, you have to build trust, and the trust is going to be built by cultivating opportunities for exchanges across small differences,” said BenPorath. “This is why a college classroom and, somewhat differently, a K–12 classroom, are the best places to have hard conversations—because these are sustained communities where we have a shared reason to be there. We already have a shared foundation—whether it’s that you live in the same neighborhood, or it’s because you all are interested in chemistry—where there already is common ground.”
This work has critical implications beyond the classroom. Preparing children for democratic citizenship was a major reason for the creation of public schools in America. Those public schools now need to prepare the citizens of tomorrow to face some overwhelming challenges, such as climate change and inequality, in an era when it seems people can’t even agree on the facts of the matter. Educators who can facilitate inclusive discussions on complex topics with their students will help produce engaged citizens who are prepared for civil debate and civic participation.
“I think we’re at a moment where everyone understands the importance of discourse and the importance of conversation—nobody can deny it,” said Reisman. “And I think the challenge is that we're still working with really impoverished models of what classroom discourse looks like. . . . As a school of education, we must support teachers in addressing this knotty problem of how to navigate discussions in this really complex historical moment.” ■
Photo credit: Lora Reehling
Photo credit: Joe McFetridge for Penn GSE
Voting-themed mural inside a third-grade classroom at the Lea School.
Associate Professor Abby Reisman in her classroom.
A DECADE OF SMART STARTS
A look back at Penn GSE’s first-of-its-kind master’s program in education entrepreneurship in honor of its recent milestone birthday.
When Bobbi Kurshan joined Penn GSE as executive director of academic innovation in 2012, one of her stipulations was that she be allowed to start a new master’s program in education entrepreneurship, a program that had previously never existed—at Penn or anywhere else. But Kurshan was used to trailblazing.
She earned degrees in math and computer science when women were underrepresented in those fields. She developed the first children’s software products for Microsoft. And over her long career as an entrepreneur, investor, developer, and academic, she had been at the forefront of the intersection of technology and education. If she was going to return to a university—a place used to a markedly slower pace of change than the tech world—it was going to be with a promise that boundaries would be pushed and things would be done differently.
“I wanted to find a way for the educators that were creating all these startups that I was investing in to have a rigorous academic introduction [to entrepreneurship],” said Kurshan.
With buy-in from then-dean Andy Porter, she began the journey to creating the Education Entrepreneurship program (now colloquially known as “EdEnt”), which celebrated its 10th anniversary this past summer. The goal was to leverage faculty from across the University—Wharton, the Weitzman School of Design, Penn Engineering, and Penn GSE—along with experts from industry, to offer a practical curriculum that integrated theory and practice across business, education, and entrepreneurship. Students would enter with either an existing venture or an idea for one, and over the course of 12 months, develop a business they could take to market.
In 2014, she hired Senior Fellow Jenny Zapf to help launch the new one-year master’s degree. Zapf was then the director of evaluation and strategy at Temple University’s College of Public Health and School of Social Work and had decades of experience starting education and social ventures in schools, nonprofits, research institutes, and venture labs. An entrepreneurial leader with a PhD in education evaluation, she also brought deep expertise managing, funding, evaluating, and scaling social impact ventures.
The initial challenge was sizeable, noted Zapf, who is now program director of EdEnt. “I joined eight weeks before our launch, and we had maybe two students who were interested and two faculty. So we built this new venture like a lean startup—applying business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and mindset, an understanding of our customers and of the culture, marketplace, and landscape of education.”
Bobbi Kurshan at the 2018 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition
Photo credit: Raphael Swingley
REUNITED
and It Feels So Good
The Education Entrepreneurship program celebrated its milestone birthday by welcoming back 10 years of alumni and faculty for a reunion. Held on campus in June 2024, the daylong event included ample opportunities for conversation and connection, panel discussions on education innovation, and a keynote from Laura Huang, management and organizational dynamics professor at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, who also teaches in EdEnt. Alumni flew in from around the world—from as far away as India, Japan, China, and Italy. And 10 of these alums, along with 15 current students, participated in a venture showcase after the graduating cohort presented their capstone projects in a pitch competition in front of the wider community.
“It was so exciting for me to see people from all of these different cohorts connecting and sharing ideas and thinking, in some cases, about joint ventures,” said Program Director Jenny Zapf. “Some really interesting, synergistic activity came out of the reunion. And for me, I was like a proud parent.”
“I was so excited to see my classmates I hadn’t reconnected with since graduation five years ago,” said Kelly King, GED’19, who spoke on the alumni panel about seeding and scaling innovation. “We talked about our ventures, careers, families, and everything in between. Your cohort becomes a family of sorts, and the 10-year celebration felt like one big family reunion.”
With more than 100 alumni in attendance and overwhelmingly positive feedback, Zapf now plans to invite alumni back each year for a venture showcase and capstone pitch event.
“The seats were still warm and we heard, ‘Oh my gosh, we want to keep doing this every year,’” she said. “So every June we will invite alums and current students to showcase their best ideas and to build partnerships and look for capital as part of our pitch event and final celebration. It’s an incredible way for us to also stay connected with our alums and to showcase their work transforming education.”
Photo credit: Raphael Swingley
They created buzz with their new model program, attracting an inaugural cohort of 21 students from across the US. Using their collective expertise in instructional design (Kurshan) and educational management and evaluation (Zapf), they built a curriculum from scratch and then spent that first year integrating rapid-fire feedback from students, faculty, and industry experts to improve and build upon it.
“We spent a tremendous amount of time talking with stakeholders,” said Zapf. “We solicited and heard real-time feedback from students, and we kept opening up the curriculum, testing little chunks at a time, continuously refining it. . . . Liza Herzog, C’92, GED’02, GR’04, and I built our entire first course—Evaluation for Education Innovation—with industry leaders in social impact, best practice research, and the first cohort of students. We needed a course that, at the time, did not exist, so we codesigned a pilot syllabus, tested it, redesigned, and learned what worked along with our learning community.”
EdEnt was created with and for working professionals and, therefore, is delivered through a blend of online and on-campus weekend and summer programs. A crucial element is the much-beloved capstone project, which finds students building a business case either for their existing venture or a new one and culminates in a pitch showcase in front of a panel of distinguished judges. Throughout the 12-month project, students pitch, test, iterate, pivot, and refine their venture ideas through meetings with a team of mentors.
Learning to pivot is an especially crucial skill. Many EdEnt students start the program with one venture idea, and graduate with a business that looks quite different. Aqeela Allahyari, GED’23, entered EdEnt hoping to start her own bilingual school for Arabic and English speakers, but after only a month in the program, she realized her interest was focused on curriculum creation and finding a better way to help children learn Arabic. So she switched gears, creating an
SUPPORTING INNOVATION
edtech platform, ArabiQuest, that gamifies Arabic language learning, making it fun and engaging for children. It recently won first place at Startup Bahrain’s Pitch Series.
“One key lesson was the importance of ‘marrying the problem, not the solution,’ as my mentor Caroline Hill [founder of 228 Accelerator] would say,” said Allahyari. “This required a significant mindset shift and ultimately led to my biggest takeaway: the ability to identify and address the real problems that need solving.”
Mariam Murad, GED’22, was already the director of the Knowledge School, a chain of 200-plus comprehensive schools across Pakistan run by her family, when she applied to join EdEnt. As part of her capstone, she not only sought to make improvements to her current schools, but she also wanted to pilot a new one: the International School of Knowledge and Leadership (SKL), adapting Finland’s early childhood curriculum for her home country.
"What made me think there’s something really special going on here was that the students all came with an urgent problem to solve, and that made their education so real and actionable."
——Jenny Zapf
“EdEnt helped me refine [my idea] through a careful market research and analysis,” she said. “I had worked mainly on the basis of intuition until then. I started SKL as a pilot located in Lahore . . . as summer school, then [changed to make it] a playgroup to grade two, a pivot that I made after careful deliberation, working on the project, and connecting with my capstone advisor.”
In January 2024, SKL opened its doors to parents and students. EdEnt helped Murad take it from an idea to a reality in her community.
One of Jenny Zapf’s priorities for the next decade of Education Entrepreneurship at Penn GSE is growing financial aid for the program.
“Our folks are really trying to bootstrap their work with very little funding and make great sacrifices to be in the program,” she said. “So we need to find a way to figure out how to create other opportunities for folks who cannot afford the price tag.”
A new gift from an anonymous Penn alum is helping to do just that, expanding access to the groundbreaking program via an endowed scholarship that will help ensure that cost doesn’t keep the next generation of visionary founders from learning how to launch their ventures. The gift also provides students with related programming that enriches their experience by exposing them to speakers, conferences, and international exchange opportunities.
“I am inspired by the Education Entrepreneurship program, the robust business and education skills it imparts to its students in just one year, and the international impact of its alumni,” said the alumni donor. “I hope this gift is able to help its future students become the forward-thinking changemakers that we need.”
Jenny Zapf, EdEnt program director
“The opportunity to build a venture alongside others in a structured format with access to experts around the world, scaffolded curriculum to guide you through each critical phase of venture development, an alumni community with leaders across education institutions, policy, the private sector, and venture capital, is unmatched,” said Kelly King, GED’19, vice president of partnerships at Prof Jim, whose capstone project was an international exchange program. “Building a venture is a lonely and vulnerable journey. Joining this program expedites each phase of venture development.”
EdEnt has grown over the last decade to serve a wide range of students, ventures, and experiences. It supports both entrepreneurs starting or growing their education venture and “intrepreneurs” who work within an existing school or company to enact new visionary strategies or change. Though early cohorts were more focused on preK–12 education and creating schools, later cohorts have been equally invested in problemsolving in the higher education and continuing education spaces. It has graduated 400 alumni who live in 45 countries—from Australia to Zimbabwe. More than half identify as people of color, and 60 percent identify as women. The most recent cohort is almost three times the size of the first one, with half hailing from outside the US.
EdEnt also welcomes applicants from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. Some students apply as experienced entrepreneurs who are looking for a better foundation in education and learning sciences, while others have great ideas but need to learn how to make them market-ready, impactful, scalable, and sustainable.
Alonso Alegre, GED’21, and his wife Maria Paz Revoredo, GED’22, launched their joint venture, Educa College Prep, which offers college counseling services for students in Hispanic America who are interested in attending university in the US, Canada, and Europe, while they were still in university, studying business in Peru. Nine years in, Alegre joined EdEnt to better understand the educational theory behind their venture. He learned so much—which, he said, helped double Educa’s sales— that he encouraged his wife to follow in his footsteps to Penn GSE the following year.
After pivoting from an in-person business serving students based in Lima, Peru, to a virtual business since graduating, they’ve expanded their customer base across Hispanic America and moved to Panama.
“We’ve had a lot of support from the program, from professors, from Jenny, and from two fellow classmates in our moving to Panama,” said
Alegre. “I think that the community that you build within the program, you get a lot from it.”
“I think that something very cool from the program is that, of course, you learn in class, but you also learn outside of the classroom with your friends,” said Revoredo. “It was awesome that it was such an eclectic mix of different people from different backgrounds, of different ages. One of my best friends from the program is twice my age, and I learned so much from him.”
The success of EdEnt—and the curriculum that Zapf and Kurshan created without a blueprint—was evident almost immediately to its founders. Zapf said from the very first cohort, she could see the students applying what they learned in the program to their ventures in real time.
“What made me think there’s something really special going on here was that the students all came with an urgent problem to solve, and that made their education so real and actionable,” she said. “They would go to class, and they would grab onto the tools, and then they would go back into their home and work environments and apply them. . . . It was this really dynamic, fast, applied learning that I hadn’t seen before in a classroom, and that was super exciting.”
“The program not only teaches you how to navigate the education market of today but gives you the skills and knowledge to adapt for the future,” said King, who, before Prof Jim, worked at StartEd, advising edtech startups. “We reviewed multiple cases of major education companies and heard predictions from our professors. In nearly every single prediction, our professors were right. The program gave us the ability to see into the future of the market, and I’ll forever be grateful to the team and faculty.”
In many ways, EdEnt is yet another “startup” that Zapf and Kurshan were able to help get off the ground.
“I’m proud that the program’s continued and Jenny has carried it forward,” said Kurshan, who stepped down as executive director of academic innovation in 2020 but remains a senior innovation advisor to EdEnt. “And then the other thing I’m most proud of is the alumni. They have been amazing in what they’ve done. I’ve stayed friends and an advisor with many of them. They’re just amazing.”
Those alumni likewise have said that the experience of being in EdEnt has been life-changing. Two members of early cohorts, Igor Kouzine, GED’16, and Brad Beshara, GED’15, have stayed with the program since graduating, first in strategic advisory roles and later running their own courses in marketing and finance. For its alumni, EdEnt has been the catalyst to their business ventures, their classroom learning, their friendships, and the creation of an ongoing global community.
“I can’t say enough about how the program has impacted me,” said King. “My capstone advisor, Rita Ferrandino [of Arc Capital Development], connected me with what would become my future employer. I recruited mentors for my job through the alumni community, tapped into previous cohorts for career advice and warm introductions for career opportunities, and made some of the closest friendships of my life. When in need of support, advice, or connections, the EdEnt community will always be the first place I turn.” ■
Maria Paz Revoredo, GED’22, and Alonso Alegre, GED’21 | Photo credit: Sanyin Wu
The People Behind the Policies
Penn GSE alumni from across the academic spectrum have advised politicians, worked in the White House and the statehouse, and spurred change in our nation’s schools and universities thanks to their evidence-backed expertise in education policy.
By Lini S. Kadaba
EDUCATION
As a high schooler, a precocious Zakiya Smith Ellis, GRD’16, printed out the entire No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 on her home computer and read it.
“I realized,” she said, “that as a teacher, you can’t control what time of day you start, the curriculum, the books, if students wear uniforms or not, the disciplinary policy.”
So began her interest in the intersection of education and policy—and, ultimately, her life’s work, with an eye toward creating greater equity. Currently, the Atlantaarea resident is a principal at EducationCounsel, a Washington, DC, consultancy that collaborates with policymakers, foundations, and nonprofits to advance evidence-based educational ideas through the legislative process.
Early on, Ellis toiled long hours for the Bush and Obama administrations, including in the White House, and focused on increasing access to Pell Grants. The behind-the-scenes labor that is policy work demands a certain tenacity, she shared. “You can work on something for years and years,” Ellis said. “Even when it becomes law and is announced, no one says, ‘Thank you, Zakiya.’ You have to be comfortable that you don’t get the public credit.”
Her Penn GSE doctorate in higher education management propelled her into the roles of New Jersey’s Secretary of Higher Education—where she helped make community college free for low- and moderate-income students—and chief policy advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy during the pandemic. “I learned how to be more effective,” she said of her studies at Penn GSE. “I’m concerned about making an impact. What are the things that need to happen in the world for more people to have opportunities?”
That question drives many GSE alumni into the world of policy. Like Ellis, other graduates have used their advanced degrees— and the deep expertise they confer—to create significant change in K–12 and higher education. They have helped research and formulate bills on student aid and debt, vocational training, and STEM education as well as develop state and city initiatives. They also have used their training to launch a state’s first charter school, co-found a STEM research center, train teachers as policy advocates, and certify students as community organizers.
STOP COLLEGE DEBT
FELLOWSHIP AHEAD
Zakiya Smith Ellis, GRD’16
Rosa M. García, GRD’15 PAID
Illustration credit: Jyoti Poonia, GED’25
Take Rosa M. García, GRD’15, executive director of the California-based national Community Learning Partnership (CLP) and its statewide initiative, the California Youth Leadership Corps (CYLC). The first-generation college student and daughter of Mexican immigrants said she views a college education as the “great equalizer” and has seen the doors that it can open.
“I do this policy work as a way to give back to historically marginalized students,” she said, “to create systemic change in higher education and local communities.”
Throughout her career, the Oakland, California, resident has advocated for greater access to a high-quality college education and policies promoting affordability, equity, diversity, student success, and an inclusive democracy. She’s worked in college admissions, at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, on the Hill, and for the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), a national nonprofit organization that advances policy solutions for people with low incomes.
In California, CLP-CYLC partners with two-year public colleges to offer learn-and-earn career pathways and paid fellowships for students to train as community change agents in the areas of climate justice, public health, community-based immigration legal services, leadership, and social change, among others. CLP’s growing national network of affiliated programs has more than 1,000 alums, García said. “We really want our graduates to see themselves as transformational leaders who are going to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time,” she said.
One reason the program succeeds, according to García, is its cohort model—influenced in good part by her GSE experiences, where she pursued her doctorate in higher education management. “Being part of a community of learners, learning from your peers, experiencing pathways together is extremely valuable and supportive of students’ success overall,” she said, listing tenets of both her graduate education and of CLP. “It also
As she delved into “understanding how to put good policy ideas into practice” in her studies, García worked for former US Rep. Rubén Hinojosa of Texas, advancing his agenda as senior policy advisor in 2012. During the Obama administration, she collaborated with caucus and committee staff to secure $2.55 billion in funding for Hispanic- and minority-serving institutions to expand STEM education while serving in Rep. Hinojosa’s office. García rose to deputy chief of staff before
joining CLASP, where she generated recommendations to reform the Higher Education Act.
“At Penn GSE, I developed a deep expertise,” García said, helping her find ways to “do better by students and faculty and university and college communities.”
STUDENT WORK ZONE
Laura Boyce, GED’09, also found her passion for policy through personal experience. After graduating from Princeton University with a degree in public and international affairs and a teaching certificate, the Philadelphia resident pursued her master’s in education policy while teaching high school history and English in West Philadelphia.
“I fell in love with teaching and instructional leadership work,” said Boyce, who became a principal in Camden, New Jersey, to widen her impact. Instead, policies from above often impeded her plans. For example, Boyce had little control over her school budget.
“I didn’t see opportunities for me to do anything except express frustration,” she said.
Then in 2017, Boyce left the schoolhouse to become executive director of Teach Plus Pennsylvania, part of a national nonprofit that trains teachers to be leaders in classroom instruction and policy change. “Now I’m finally working in educational policy,” she said, “and using my degree.”
In 2020, Boyce expanded Teach Plus Pennsylvania’s programs, bringing its popular policy fellowship to the state. Over 10 months, a few dozen K–12 teachers each year are trained in the nuts and bolts of how a bill becomes law, where power is held, how to write op-eds, and, perhaps most important, how to tell a story around an issue to advance legislation.
NEW PATHWAYS TO TEACHING POSITIONS
“We see so many examples of well-intentioned polic[ies] that have unintended consequences or end up causing harm,” she said. “We believe those closest to the impact of policy should always have a seat at the table.”
In recent years, fellows have worked on diversifying the teacher workforce by getting bills passed to collect data, offering stipends to student teachers, allowing noncitizens (such as “Dreamers”) to earn certification, and creating new vocational education pathways to teaching careers.
Even though Boyce said she would have liked to have learned more about the nitty-gritty of the political process during her time at Penn GSE, she credited her graduate program with hammering the importance of solid research undergirding the best policy—the approach Teach Plus takes. “We really focus on bringing that teacher perspective,” she said, “along with evidence-based solutions.”
In 2002, Glenn Cummings, GRD’10, a former history and economics high school teacher and community college dean, made his first foray into policymaking. He won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives. “I always wanted to be part of the solution,” he said.
Indeed, he’s had wide impact. As chair of the education committee, Cummings led the creation of the state’s first community college system, and later rose to Speaker of the House. After six years, he joined the Obama administration as deputy assistant secretary of education to formulate a plan to boost graduation rates within adult education and expand programs for green jobs. At the same time, he was in the depths of his doctorate in higher education management at Penn GSE, researching the role of community colleges and universities in creating pathways to green jobs—which happened to be a priority of the administration.
“It was just perfect,” he said. “There was a tremendous amount of synergies between learning the theory and the real-world case studies and using that to help enhance my baseline knowledge when I was working in politics.”
Cummings’ ultimate goal was a college presidency—where he hoped to influence outcomes. After helping found the state’s first charter school, he became president in 2015 of the University of Southern Maine, where he added dorms and an arts center to the Portland campus and improved retention rates.
Often, success involved understanding the power dynamics, not unlike in the political world. His GSE education, he said, was key. He remembers long debates with one professor over whether the faculty or the board of trustees had more influence. The professor argued in favor of the board, but Cummings leaned toward the faculty before concluding that both are equally crucial partners.
“Penn got me thinking, in advance, what are the ways you can leverage and be effective as a college president,” said Cummings, who, since 2022, has led the Portland-based Albert B. Glickman and Judy Glickman Lauder Family Foundations, which is focused on supporting the arts and mental health programs. “It got you to think about mission and what is the story of a university.”
Laura Boyce, GED’09
While Kendrick B. Davis, GEN’14, ML’17, GR’18, now works as a research associate professor of education at the University of Southern California (USC), he had different goals earlier in his career.
“It was about making a difference and spending the least amount of time getting to the place where that could happen,” he said.
The mechanical engineer joined the School District of Philadelphia in 2010, where he worked as a compliance officer for federal and state education grants and led STEM initiatives, which included interactive science presentations at schools. At the same time, then Gov. Tom Corbett was slashing school budgets.
“The district was in a tailspin,” he said. “It was cuts and consolidation.” At one presentation, he said, he asked some students whether they had learned about the day’s topic in class. “They said, ‘Mister, we don’t have a science teacher.’”
Davis was stunned. With the help of partnerships to fill funding gaps, he committed to expanding STEM initiatives and helping start a districtwide STEM Awareness Week to highlight district efforts, a deans' roundtable with area engineering schools, and a STEM fair. He also helped design the district’s first STEAM academy—with the added “A” incorporating the arts. That led to a position in the mayor’s office to do similar work citywide, with a focus on vocational STEM education that could lead to betterpaying jobs, even as he earned his doctorate.
The degree gave him the expertise to win a congressional fellowship and work for then–Sen. Kamala Harris on student debt and workforce development legislation, including the 21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act.
“It was a roller coaster,” he said. He was the education point person, expected to know the day’s news and potential crises, even as he researched bills. “We had that pace.”
Now, Davis has found another path to impact policy: research. A new USC STEM center he co-directs looks to transform STEM teaching and learning in K–12 and higher education.
“Our goal is to be a hub for research, practice, and innovation,” he said, “focused on reimagining, improving, and sustaining high-quality STEM practices.”
He’s counting on his background in the trenches of Philadelphia and Washington to enact real change. “No one teaches you how to turn your research outcomes into federal policy,” he said. “That process is mysterious and murky. It’s best done when you get practical experience.”
When success arrives, the result can be joyous—not only for those individuals who benefit but also for the policy nerd who did the research or shepherded the legislation.
Ellis, the former New Jersey Secretary for Higher Education, got the rare satisfaction of witnessing the effect of a policy change up close. A student who worked two jobs and lived out of his car to afford community college saw his tuition balance fall to zero when New Jersey’s free-tuition policy became law. He told her he couldn’t believe it and was beyond grateful.
“We were able to create a program that helped a lot of people,” Ellis said. “That was really, really meaningful.”
EXPANDING STEM ACCESS
Glenn Cummings, GRD’10 | Photo courtesy of USM Foundation
Kendrick B. Davis, GEN’14, ML’17, GR’18
A Playbook for College Athletics
Adjunct Assistant Professor Karen Weaver, GRD’09, has been an Olympic-level athlete, a national championship coach, and a university athletics administrator. Now, she teaches higher education leaders what they need to know to successfully navigate their institutions through the serious challenges facing college athletics today.
Karen Weaver was a world-class field hockey player. She was an All-American, one of the first women to earn an athletics scholarship under Title IX, and even qualified for the 1980 Olympic team (though the US boycotted the Moscow games). She turned that level of skill and passion for a sport into a distinguished professional path, becoming a head coach at Salisbury University in Maryland and the Ohio State University before running athletics departments of her own.
Her education at Penn GSE, where she earned her EdD in higher education management, illuminated the chasm that existed not just in the practical knowledge that university leaders lack about college athletics and how its governing body, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), works, but also the academic literature on the subject. Weaver has spent every year since working to fill those gaps, becoming a national expert on the intersection of college sports and higher education.
After more than 30 years in athletics administration, Weaver joined the academic side of the house, teaching sports business at Drexel University before joining the Penn GSE faculty as adjunct assistant professor in 2020. She now teaches in the higher education program and developed and runs GSE’s Collegiate Athletics for Senior Campus Leaders certificate program through the Center for Professional Learning.
She has two books coming out in 2025, the second edition of her textbook Sports Finance: Where the Money Comes From and Where the Money Goes (Kendall Hunt) and College Presidents and College Athletics: Money, Power, Politics (Johns Hopkins University Press). Ahead of their release, she spoke with us about her transition from working in athletics to researching it and some of the biggest changes in the field over the last decade.
How did you make the transition from athletic administrator to becoming an academic whose area of expertise is athletics?
One simple answer: Penn GSE’s Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Management program. I enrolled in 2007, a year after I moved back home to Philly. When I was in the program, so many light bulbs went off for me. The conversations that I had with my cohort-mates allowed me to think about where the gaps were in administrators' understanding of athletics—because most presidents and other leaders come up through academics and are nowhere near athletics. The conversations we had were just mind-blowing, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was a real gap in the literature and the teaching. How athletics is financed, what the legal challenges are, the impact on the student-athletes, the work that the coaches do—there’s so much unknown to college leadership.
Why are higher ed leaders so unprepared for this major part—and frankly, major moneymaker—for their campus?
Well, there is some doubt about whether it’s a moneymaker because nearly all the money that comes in for Division I goes back into the athletics departments, not the wider school. You could argue that athletics drives tuition sometimes and it drives alumni engagement sometimes, but it’s not consistent by sport. But to answer your broader question, I think the issue of preparation for a presidency places a high value on understanding shared governance, the role of faculty in determining the future of the college academically, on finance and enrollment, and on research, which is a dense area. At some point, you just run out of time. You think, “The athletic director will handle this.” But what we’ve learned in the last decade is that the presidents are the ones who are ultimately in charge of the institution, and if they don’t understand the choices the institution is facing in athletics, both short and long term, it can be problematic.
Photo credit: Lora Reehling Photography
What do you want higher ed leaders to know about college athletics?
That they have to get involved. They have to be comfortable discussing it. . . . I’ve heard, “Well, it’s just athletics,” so many times in my career, but athletics issues have major reputational impacts on institutions. . . . I guess what I’m hoping my book does for college presidents is that it starts to encourage more dialogue between leaders to understand how this industry works. Athletics is not an “ancillary” enterprise anymore. Whether you are Division I, II, or III, it offers a tuition and enrollment strategy, an alumni engagement opportunity, a public relations and branding vehicle, and a peer-group association.
One of your new books is the second edition of your sports finance textbook. What’s changed in that realm in the last four years since the first edition came out?
A huge amount! When I was first contracted to write that book, I was still working at Drexel, and I was teaching mostly undergraduates . . . who were experts in one sport. So, I wrote the book to give them a broad-based understanding of the industry based on governance structures—financial, legal, whether they have any antitrust exemptions. No other book had been written like that. . . . We were in the middle of a pandemic—we didn’t even have fans at baseball or basketball games, and the finances were in complete disarray. People were worried about having to borrow millions of dollars just to cover their payrolls. So we wrote the book in that era, and it now has to be completely updated in every single facet. We added chapters on three new emerging topics: Formula 1 racing and pickleball—two exploding sports—and increasing fan engagement. There are other new things that are really impacting all of these sports—AI, the influence of tech, and the growing role of the media via the role of TikTok and YouTube. Today, Gen Z and others are consuming sports differently, and how teams monetize that consumption is very important to driving new revenues. We also have the explosion of private equity coming into many sports, and a few presidents are starting to ask questions about how that could work in college sports.
One of the biggest stories in college athletics has been the ability of student-athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness, shorthanded to “NIL.” Can you explain how that change came about?
Up until 2021, you or me or my dean or anybody could endorse a product, but the NCAA had long ruled that college athletes were different. They didn’t get the same rights as everybody else because they were called an “amateur athlete.” Now, that’s easy to buy if everybody else around you is making a typical wage, but not when you have coaches making $10 million, not when you have assistants making $2 million in college football. When you see the size of the athletics budgets and everybody’s getting paid except for the athletes, it’s a problem. Some people will argue it’s fine because the athletes are getting a four-year degree in return, but two-thirds of the athletes in Division I programs weren’t even getting full scholarships. They were being told, “You can’t make any money. You should just be excited that we admitted you and put you on a scholarship, even if it’s only for $2,000.” The NCAA was trying to set some NIL rules and guidelines, but then the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) produced an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in the O’Bannon v. NCAA case, which was focused on the athletes’ likenesses in video games only. The DOJ recommended to the Supreme Court—and the Supreme Court agreed—that athletes are not to be treated differently, that the NCAA did not have permission to violate US law. . . . So now, athletes who already realize that they do have a right to their NIL are taking advantage of sponsorships from car dealerships, condos, private planes, and the NCAA wants to put further regulations on that. So, we’re going to have more lawsuits. And, in the O’Bannon case, schools are now also permitted to offer “unlimited educational benefits.” So the question becomes, what do those look like? Paying for graduate school? Study abroad? Paying for laptops? It’s an open-ended question.
As an early beneficiary of Title IX, what are your thoughts about how it has shaped collegiate athletics over the last 52 years? And what do you think still needs to be done in the realm of promoting equity in college sports?
Well, it took 50 years to get women athletes to a level where they’re noticed—just look at the WNBA. But it’s taken a long time—too long—to get to that point. And I believe that the universities made a calculated decision to emphasize earning more money over providing equity, because how else were they going to pay for their athletic programs? . . . But obviously, when you’re bringing in money, you get noticed. The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball program is incredibly successful, with Philly native Dawn Staley as the head coach. It brought in $3 million in revenues last year. Everyone’s like, “Wow! We didn’t know women’s sports could do that!” Yes, they can, but you have to really believe and invest in the programs. Adding flag football right now as a girls’ sport in Pennsylvania high schools is a huge deal. I’ve never seen so much excitement for adding one sport, but it helps that the NFL is behind it. They’re throwing money at it, so no wonder everybody’s excited. So equity can and will happen. We just haven’t seen it broadly yet.
FACES of Philanthropy
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The late professor and dean William B. Castetter, GR’48, is still supporting Penn GSE students and their educational changemaking thanks to a bequest he made to the School.
By Rebecca Raber
The impact of the late William B. Castetter can be felt across Penn GSE—in the numerous alumni he taught during his almost 40 years at the School, in the stable course he charted for the institution during his two stints as acting dean, in the winners of the awards given for significant service to Penn GSE in his name each year at Alumni Weekend, and in the students whose education he has made possible with his scholarship.
A decorated World War II veteran whose service included more than 500 days of combat, Castetter began his educational career as principal of Melrose High School in New Mexico, later becoming professor and dean of men at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania before joining the faculty of Penn GSE. In his research, he pioneered innovative programs for school administrators, and his widely used textbook, The Human Resource Function in Educational Administration, is regarded as a definitive work on educational HR. His students remember him as funny, warmhearted, and gifted at quantifying complicated subjects in his work.
“Dr. Castetter’s caring and competence were present at all times, and he encouraged me to broaden the scope of my education [with] studies at the Wharton School,” remembered GRD’71. “His expectations were exceeded by his kindness as a mentor to my classmates and me.”
In 2004, Castetter named the School as a beneficiary of his estate, establishing the William B. and Roberta Castetter Endowed Fellowship to support students unable to afford the cost of a Penn GSE education. (He said at the time he hoped to fund “really creative people who see what’s going on in the world and who are interested in improving education—people who are going to make a world of difference.”)
And for two decades, that fund has provided full scholarships to exceptional doctoral students like J. Cameron Anglum, C’09, GED’14, GR’19.
“Fellowship funding provided the space to allow me to focus the bulk of my time at GSE on learning and maturing as a research scholar,” said Anglum, now an assistant professor in the College of Education at Lehigh University.
“My direct application of classroom learning to real-world issues in educational practice and policy was only made possible through my fellowship. This included significant time devoted to research projects focused on pressing issues in Pennsylvania school funding reform and curriculum and discipline policy initiatives in Philadelphia.”
In honor of Castetter’s generous bequest, all supporters who include Penn GSE in their estate plans are recognized with membership in the William B. Castetter Circle, which includes invitations to special events throughout the year. This sort of support is known as a “planned gift,” and while there are many different ways to integrate charitable intentions for the School into estate plans—bequests, gift annuities, trusts—all of them ensure that donors’ generosity is sustained beyond their lifetime, establishing a lasting legacy of support for education.
“Planned gifts propel Penn’s mission of excellence, driving innovation and ensuring continued leadership in education,” said Marcie Merz, executive director of gift planning at the University. “With a variety of giving strategies available, you can align your philanthropic and personal goals while creating a lasting legacy.”
For Castetter, who died at age 94 in 2009, his reason for a planned gift was clear. After contributing so much to Penn GSE through his decades of service, he wanted to leave a legacy of continued support for its mission and students in perpetuity.
Learn more about making a lasting impact through a planned gift.
If you have remembered Penn GSE in your estate plans or would like to learn more about planned giving, email giftplan@dev.upenn.edu or call (215) 898-6171. penng.se/giftplanning
William Castetter, 1974, Courtesy of University Relations
Find Penn GSE Magazine Online! Visit penng.se/GSEmag to find our issue archive.
At Penn, all alumni have an affiliation—a series of letters and numbers following their name to indicate their degree, school, and year of graduation. A master’s degree from Penn GSE is represented as GED and an education doctorate is GRD. A philosophy doctorate from any school at Penn is represented as GR. An undergraduate degree offered by the School of Education until 1961 is represented as ED. The two numbers following the letters represent the year in which that degree was completed.
& Denotes alumni authors whose latest book is featured on the alumni bookshelf on p. 31.
1960s
James Fritts, GRD’63, is an instructor at Northeastern Illinois University.
Joseph Wilson, GED’66, has been a teacher, coach, lawyer, government official, and high school principal. He taught at the high school, college, and law school levels, founded a legal aid office in Pico Rivera, CA, and served for eight years on the San Jose Unified School District Board of Education, where he helped the district emerge from bankruptcy and desegregate its schools. He also served as principal of Baltimore City College, which earned a National Blue Ribbon School designation and became an International Baccalaureate school during his tenure, and Ithaca High School, which was ranked highly by U.S. News and World Report and improved its equity index.
1970s
Judy Buxton, GED’71, D’81, spent six years teaching general science, biology, and anatomy at various levels, including at Georgia State University before returning to Penn to become a dentist. During dental school, she taught biology at Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies. Since then, she has maintained a private practice while traveling the world, often accompanied by her children.
Carole Karsch, ED’59, GED’78, and Samuel H. Karsch, W’56, L’59, recently celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary. Carole is now retired after a career in education technology. They reside in Boca Raton, FL.
Carol Parlett, GED’78, is a retired consultant who has worked with Wakefern Corp., Unisys, and Key Lime Cafe. She spends her time writing “get out the vote” letters for Vote Forward, serving on the board of the Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence, participating in a biweekly writers’ group, and enjoying Philadelphia’s cultural offerings.
Eric R. White, GED’67, GRD’75, director emeritus of the Division of Undergraduate Studies and associate dean emeritus of advising at Penn State University, published the article “Keeping the Academic in Advising: Where Academic Advising Belongs in the Collegiate Structure” in the June 2024 issue of NACADA Review: Academic Advising Praxis and Perspectives
1980s
Janell Carroll, GED’87, GR’89, visiting assistant professor of psychology at the University of Hartford, recently published the seventh edition of her widely used college-level textbook, Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity, with Cengage Publishers in June 2024.
Ann Dapice, NU’74, GR’80, authored To Thine Own Self: Values and Ethics in a Complicated World, which is forthcoming from Penguin. Her book, which stems from her research with Charles Dwyer, HOM’71, provides helpful tools and guidance on how to help students think and thrive in our changing world.
Linda Dolan, GED’89, retired as the assistant to the superintendent at Lebanon School District in 2006, after serving over 32 years in public education. She then served as director of the PA Parent Information Resource Center and supervised field placements and student teachers at Penn State Harrisburg. She has also been an active volunteer, serving on the Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation Board and co-
Alumni Notes
chairing the Central Dauphin School District’s Panther Ram Foundation annual celebration.
Linda Hansell, GED’85, GR’96, co-authored Searching for Solid Ground: A Memoir in collaboration with renowned musician Reggie Harris. The memoir, published by Skinner House Books, was released in April 2024.
Ilsa Lottes, GR’86, emerita professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, recently published a book, Quality of Life and Human Rights Policies in the US: How Our Two Political Parties Compare, in August 2024.
Maggie Mulqueen, GED’78, GR’84, is a psychologist who has published numerous essays for CNN and NBC News and has written op-eds for the Chicago Tribune Most recently, Maggie was interviewed for a piece in the Sunday New York Times business section about the cost of therapy.
Meryl Weiss, C’79, GED’84, previously worked at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, administering grants in their Program for Justice, and at Learning Leaders, an educational nonprofit that trained and placed volunteer tutors in New York City public schools. She still teaches ballroom dance occasionally and is on the board of her synagogue. She writes, “I look forward to returning to Penn this spring for my 45th reunion from the College of Arts and my 40th from GSE.”
Shelly Wepner, GED’73, GRD’80, dean emeritus and professor at Manhattanville University, recently published two articles with colleagues: “Critical Friend Mentoring: Strategic Sounding Boards for Academic Deans" in Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning and “Examining Chief Academic Officers’ Reasons for Remaining or Exiting Their Positions" in the Journal of Higher Education Management
1990s
Sarah Burgess-Gregorian, GED’98, works as an administrator at Boston College. She recently published her fourth book, Foundations, under her pen name T.H. Forest in October 2024. Additionally, she is featured in the Dakota and Elle Fanning-produced Hulu documentary, Mastermind, about her mother, Ann Burgess, a former Penn nursing professor, and her work with the FBI.
Brett Hardin, GED’96, recently became the head of school at Terra School at Serenbe, a new private school located just outside of Atlanta.
Jennifer Hunt, GED’97, was appointed interim dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine in January 2024.
Thomas A. Kecskemethy, GED’96, GRD’12, is the executive director of the American Academy of Political and Social Science and executive editor of the journal The ANNALS. Each volume is dedicated to an important topic in society or public policy.
Leslie Nabors Olah, GED’96, became the scientific director of Assessment for Good, a program funded by the Advanced Educational Research and Development Fund. The program focuses on developing asset-based formative assessment tools to support whole-child development for Black and Latinx learners, ages 8–13.
Christina Reichert, GED’96, has transitioned to a new career as a freelance Spanish language interpreter after 25 years of teaching Spanish.
Z. Paul Reynolds, GED’92, was appointed as the inaugural director of student life risk management at the University of Rochester. He most recently served as the director of the Waldron Campus Center at Gannon University in Erie, PA.
Iris Shea, GED’91, a clinical psychologist, recently completed 800 hours of training in yoga therapy, which she now incorporates into her practice. She teaches clients meditation, body, and breathwork to support recovery from trauma and long-term stress. She returned to part-time clinical work after retiring to meet the growing need for post-pandemic support.
William Smith, GED’91, GR'94, works as a reading partner with AmeriCorps, helping children in grades K–6 who find reading challenging to develop a love for it.
Jill Weller-Reilly, GED’96, GED’16, was named Fellow of the Year by Teach Plus PA. Jill is a Spanish teacher, dean of students, world languages coordinator, and senior team lead in the School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Program in the Central Bucks School District.
2000s
Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor, GR’01, a professor at the University of Georgia, released her sixth book, The Creative Ethnographer’s Notebook, via Routledge in October 2024.
Jana Carlisle, GED’08, founder and lead consultant at Education Support Consulting, authored Women Navigating Educational Leadership (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024), a book that draws on the insights from 37 women leaders around gender and racial bias, resilience, social justice, and leadership strategies and challenges.
Stacey Carlough, GED’06, joined the Office of School and Community Engagement at Penn GSE full-time this fall. She oversees efforts to support equitable and authentic teaching, learning, and well-being in Philadelphia school communities. Stacey also co-leads a new five-year initiative aimed at supporting postsecondary success for high school students in Philadelphia. She is especially proud of the interdisciplinary team’s award-winning professional wellness project, Tier Two for Teachers, which focuses on educator well-being as essential to student and school success.
Ted Cross, GED’09, WEV'09, was named an executive director in the Office of the President at Arizona State University in January 2023, where he leads Principled Innovation initiatives. He collaborates with university leaders to embed practices that draw on values, character, and civic and intellectual assets to drive human flourishing.
Cathy Dove, GRD’04, joined WittKieffer to provide leadership advisory services for higher education. Cathy and her team, composed of former college presidents, use their extensive experience to support leaders in leadership transition, team alignment, and coaching.
Pamela Felder-Small, GRD’05, president and founder of Black Doctorates Matter and a faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University, was awarded a three-year tenure on the Fulbright Specialist Roster in August 2024.
Nancy Franklin, GRD’08, is serving as board chair for Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and as a senior fellow for the Strategic Doing Institute while continuing her position as principal at Franklin Solutions.
Laura Freid, GRD’05, is celebrating her seventh year as president of Maine College of Art and Design and is leading a capital campaign to establish a Center for Art and Design Learning.
Allyson Galloway, GED’00, a psychologist with VitalCore Health Strategies, is serving as president of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association for the 2024–2025 year.
David Hanson, GRD’09, continues to serve as CFO/ COO at the Branson School while also managing his consulting practice, Winthrop Associates. He recently opened a new wine shop in Palm Springs, CA.
Jim Johnsen, GRD’06, recently edited Public University Systems: Leveraging Scale in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
Jennifer M. Johnson, GED’08, was recently named the inaugural associate dean of student success in the College of Education and Human Development at Temple University.
Romilla Karnati, GED’00, GR’08, is senior director of early childhood development at Save the Children, US. She has received the Extraordinary Performance Award four times and the prestigious Founder Eglantyne Jebb Award for her outstanding contributions. She co-developed the evidencebased Building Brains parenting program and is a master trainer of the International Development Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool. She also serves on the technical working group of the global Early Childhood Development Action Network and is on the executive committee of the Thrive Coalition.
Stephanie McCoy, GED’04, is an educator who has supported her two sons, now ages 16 and 13, in writing and publishing their own children’s books. Andrew McCoy authored Jokes that STEM from a Child, and Stephen McCoy wrote Cooking for Fun: An Interactive Cookbook for Children
Kim Morris, GED’09, a school administrator at Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, graduated with a
doctorate in educational leadership from Saint Joseph’s University in May 2024.
Natasha Murray, GRD’05, is currently serving as the chair of the board of directors of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, an organization of distinguished educators committed to supporting teachers and strengthening public education for all students.
Lark Rambo, GED’06, recently became the executive director of the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation in Colorado.
Mimi Romeo, GED’01, transitioned to teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) at a public school in Northeast Philadelphia after 22 years as an elementary teacher. She works primarily with students in kindergarten through second grade from around the world, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Ukraine.
Jessica Simon, GED’08, director of engagement at the nonprofit Brady: United Against Gun Violence, lives with her wife and daughter in Silver Spring, MD. Her first poetry collection, Built of All I Shape and Name (Kelsay Books, 2023), features “Even After,” a poem that was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
Jeanine Staples-Dixon, GRD’05, professor at Pennsylvania State University, has a forthcoming book, Extraordinary Pedagogies: An Endarkened Feminist Approach to Revolutionizing Teacher Consciousness (TC College Press), set to be released in December 2024.
Amber Williams, GED’07, is the director of strategic partnerships at National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), a nonprofit focused on creating high-quality assessments and learning tools. NBME’s mission supports the assessment of physicians and health professionals across education, training, and practice, including research and the development of assessment instruments.
Dogan Yuksel, GED’03, research fellow at the Open University in the UK, was recently listed among the most prolific authors in the field of English medium instruction (EMI) according to a recent bibliometric analysis.
2010s
Jessica Korf Beaver, GR’13, is a senior program officer on the K–12 education team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She applies the measurement and evaluation training from Penn GSE to support investments that promote student math learning through high-quality instructional materials and aligned professional learning supports.
Dani Bicknell, GED’15, self-published her first book, The Restorative Rebel: Memoirs and Musings on Internalized Capitalism, in December. She writes: “A recovering workaholic, I once measured my worth by productivity alone. . . . For those feeling disillusioned by capitalism’s promises and yearning for a way to thrive on their own terms, The Restorative Rebel is an invitation to rethink success, embrace joy, and rebuild a life rooted in empathy and community.”
Joseph Boselovic, GED’12, earned his PhD in sociology from Johns Hopkins University in May 2024 and began his role as a postdoctoral research fellow at the William and Mary School of Education this summer. His current work focuses on how families choose schools and the enduring nature of school segregation.
Wendy Castillo, GR’18, assistant professor at Montclair State University, released her first book, How to QuantCrit: Applying Critical Race Theory to Quantitative Data in Education (Routledge), in October 2024.
Melissa Chipillini, GED’16, GED'17, became a licensed psychologist and went into private practice for herself.
Carlo Cinaglia, GED’16, is a PhD candidate in second language studies at Michigan State University. His dissertation study, “Investment in Studying Spanish at a US University: Linguistic Identities and Discourses about Language Learning,” was recently awarded a Research Priorities Grant from ACTFL and a Dissertation Writing Support Grant from the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations. He will return to Penn GSE to present preliminary results of his study at the 2025 Ethnography in Education Research Forum.
Victoria Creamer, GRD’18, principal of Creekside Elementary School, has been selected to participate in the North Carolina Public School Forum’s Educational Policy Fellowship Program. This nationally recognized program engages leaders in promoting equitable education policy, with fellows exploring state and federal education issues to become informed contributors to critical debates shaping education in North Carolina and beyond.
Emily Darrow, GED’16, was selected as a fellow in the Women’s Policy Institute with the Women’s Fund of Rhode
Island. The fellowship focuses on increasing the number of women leaders in Rhode Island who are actively involved in shaping public policies that support women and girls.
Katie Dixon, GED’18, started a private therapy practice specializing in conflict resolution, grief, and recovery from trauma. She recently joined the board of Irish Heritage Theatre.
Tim Dodds, GED’16, became assistant principal of student life at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, VA, after 13 years at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School as a teacher, administrator, and coach. He also recently got married.
Latoya Floyd, GED’17, is now the executive director of admissions at Fayetteville State University. In this role, she oversees the admissions process for first-time freshmen, transfer students, adult learners, military affiliates, and graduate students, ensuring a seamless and supportive experience for all prospective students.
Keith Ford, GED’10, is in his 21st year in education as the school counselor at Conwell Middle School in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. In May 2024, he received the prestigious Lindback Distinguished Teacher Award for excellence in promoting learning for student intellect and character development. Additionally, in his role as the point person for Temple University’s Future Scholars Program pilot, he mentors students in grades 7–12.
Bojing Fu, GED’16, serves the City of Philadelphia as a development officer, applying the intercultural competencies gained through Penn GSE’s ICC program to support international companies in their expansion and contribute to the growth of the regional economy.
Xiaoyan Fu, GED’15, transitioned to college counseling, guiding Chinese students through US admissions after five years as an international coordinator at Fudan University. Drawing on her experience at Penn GSE, which expanded her cultural awareness and solidified her passion for supporting educational needs in multicultural settings, she now focuses on fostering open-mindedness and self-discovery in her students.
Alan Garcia, GED’13, is the vice president of the Corporate Work Study program at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School, part of a national network of 40 Cristo Rey schools across 25 states. At Cristo Rey, students attend college preparatory classes four days a week and participate in a federally recognized work-study program one day a week throughout all four years of high school. Designed to serve families of modest economic means, Cristo Rey Brooklyn boasts a 100 percent graduation and college acceptance rate.
Azad Godus, GED’17, head manager of continuous medical education at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, proudly shares that his team was recently honored with the CPD Provider Excellence Award for their role in advancing healthcare through educational programs. He is also pioneering the use of virtual reality in medical education with the launch of the Very Realistic Learning initiative, aimed at creating immersive learning experiences for healthcare professionals. He is currently conducting a qualitative study to measure the impact of VR-based education on healthcare practitioners.
Mark Heath, GED’16, recently became the inaugural chief of staff at Milton Academy. After completing his ISTR fellowship at Milton, he served as a teacher and dorm parent. In his new role, Mark manages the leadership team and board of trustees, guiding strategic decision-making and ensuring effective organizational leadership and management.
Christine Hernandez, GED’10, senior director of programs at IGNITE National, is set to be sworn in as an Area 2 trustee for the Huntington Beach Union High School Board of Trustees in December.
Stephan Heuer, GED’13, recently became assistant head of school for teaching and learning at Frankford Friends School, where he has worked for 10 years. He was previously the school’s director of student life and taught third grade. He writes: “This new leadership opportunity feels like a natural progression, and I’m grateful for the chance to continue making a difference in a community that means so much to me.”
Joan Hill, GRD’12, serves as the head of school at the Lamplighter School in Dallas, TX. Additionally, Joan chairs the nominating committee for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and is a member of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Foundation Board.
Kirsten Hill, GED’11, GR’16, published her first book, Ask Better Questions: A Simple Guide to Good Survey Design, which provides a step-by-step approach to creating effective surveys for both seasoned researchers and curious entrepreneurs. Kirsten is the founder of her
own consulting company, working in the social impact space to make research accessible and meaningful for nonprofits, startups, and small businesses focused on measuring impact.
Jenny Hoving, GED’17, partnered with an occupational therapist and a social worker to form Heartwood, a nonprofit learning community dedicated to supporting individual differences in sensory processing, social-emotional regulation, and communication.
Christopher Jenkins, GED’18, serves as the designated point person for schools and communities during the construction, renovation, and modernization of DC Public Schools (DCPS) buildings. He oversees five school projects, managing design-build teams and facilitating School Improvement Team focus groups to build relationships with school leaders and communities. In addition to his work with DCPS, Christopher is pursuing his EdD in educational leadership and administration at George Washington University.
Brandi P. Jones, GRD’15, joined Trinity University in March 2024 as the inaugural vice president for inclusive engagement. Since then, her role has evolved into vice president for people, culture, and community, which adds oversight of human resources to her portfolio. Her responsibilities include strategic planning and implementation, community relations, policy development, addressing campus climate issues, and related communications. Brandi previously served in research and leadership roles at the USC, Princeton, Occidental, and California Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on the experiences of minoritized communities in science and engineering, where her work has contributed to the creation of best practices for access, inclusion, and talent development.
Joi Baker Jones, GED’15, joined College Board as director of K–12 strategic account management for the state of Maryland in August 2024.
Yajie Kim, GED’15, serves as a contract specialist for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), where she negotiates and manages complex government contracts. Her background in intercultural communication has been instrumental in bridging communication gaps and fostering mutual understanding among diverse stakeholders, ensuring successful contract negotiations and compliance with federal regulations.
Michael Kokozos, GR’17, was recently published in the Journal of Youth Development, The High School Journal, and the Journal of Extension. His co-authored book, Teaching Storytelling in Classrooms and Communities: Amplifying Student Voices and Inspiring Social Change, is set to be released in 2025.
Jason Larocque, GED’11, associate principal at St. John’s Prep, received his PhD in school leadership from Lesley University in spring 2024. His dissertation focused on masculinity, health, and leadership in all-boys schools.
Valerie Lundy, GR’10, vice chancellor of digital innovation and infrastructure in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, was recently appointed to the Institute of Education Sciences Small Working Group of Experienced Education Practitioners (SWEEP) to support the What Works Clearinghouse in understanding how practitioners use and apply evidence. This appointment aligns with her commitment to advancing equity through improving technology infrastructure and data governance for California Community Colleges, the largest postsecondary system in the country.
Donna Sabella Monheit, GR’10, GNU’12, is a boardcertified psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner and former executive director of Delaware’s Anti-Trafficking Action Council. She is the founder and served as the contributing editor for the American Journal of Nursing’s “Mental Health Matters” column and is also the cofounder and former associate editor for the Journal of Human Trafficking. She co-edited and contributed to Human Trafficking: A Global Emergency (Springer, 2023), and she wrote a chapter in the upcoming Palgrave Handbook on Modern Slavery. She has held numerous academic positions at Drexel University, Penn, the Pennsylvania College of Health Science, and University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she continues to teach in the graduate psychiatric nurse practitioner program.
Kate Moore, GRD’12, founder of the Global Career Center, recently authored Internships, Service Learning, and Research Abroad through NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The book highlights high-impact practices that blend traditional education abroad with hands-on professional experiences, providing students with valuable skills to enhance their careers.
Adam Morrow, GED’13, recently moved to Seattle and founded the Allston Group to provide nonprofit leaders affordable fundraising support options, data analytics, and team coaching. He previously served on the development staff at Harvard for more than nine years.
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Cassidy Muzyk, GED’10, recently achieved her dream of becoming a public school teacher. After 13 years of teaching first and second grades at a charter school in Northeast Philadelphia, she was hired by the Cheltenham School District in August 2024. Cassidy now teaches fifth grade at Elkins Park School.
Samantha Neugebauer, GED’11, recently completed her MFA in fiction at Johns Hopkins University and is teaching at New York University in Washington, DC.
Adam Payne, GRD’18, assistant professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology, was recently appointed as one of three faculty members to a Provost’s Faculty Fellowship. In his new role as faculty fellow for the honors program, Adam will work directly with representatives from the schools of engineering, architecture/design, management, data and computing sciences, and sciences and humanities to help build and strengthen the honors program.
Hang Qin, GED’18, with his team, hosted the BetterWorld Global Youth Model United Nations Conference, one of the best Model UN conferences for K–12 students in Asia. The event brought together hundreds of young representatives from diverse countries—including China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States—this summer to engage in debates around climate change, global health security, and human rights.
Melissa Reynolds, GED’15, is a program officer at the Walton Family Foundation in Jersey City, NJ, and is excited to return to the Philadelphia area after nearly seven years in Washington, DC.
Anthony Rini, GRD’11, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Northeastern University, overseeing operations across all 14 Northeastern campuses in the US, Canada, and the UK.
Jon Roberts, GED’13, became middle school principal at Colegio Bolívar in Cali, Colombia, in August 2020, shortly after the pandemic began. Now in his fifth year, Jon has led the school through the challenges of virtual learning, returning to in-person classes, a generational protest, and a cyberattack. Throughout these experiences, he has gained deep insights into human behavior, learning that the key to understanding is listening and supporting others.
Kevin Scott, GED’16, has transitioned to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, after 14 years at the University of Pennsylvania, to establish a new emergency medicine residency program. He has also taken on the role of inaugural academic chair for the department of emergency medicine within the Geisinger College of Health Sciences.
Krystal Smalls, GR’15, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, recently published her monograph, Telling Blackness: Young Liberians and the Raciosemiotics of Contemporary Black Diaspora, with Oxford University Press as part of their Language and Race series.
Lin Tan, GED’12, now in her second year as a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, launched a research project exploring the unique challenges faced by first-generation Chinese immigrant parents raising children in predominantly white communities.
Larry Thi, GED’19, LPS’19, serves as the director of operations at the Lenfest Scholars Foundation, where he supports high-achieving students from rural south-central Pennsylvania in gaining admission to and thriving at selective universities. In his role, he manages the application and selection process for incoming cohorts, administers the foundation’s technology platforms and data systems, and oversees human resources and financial management for scholarship payments, programs, and services.
Daphne Valcin, GED’10, recently launched her first book, Becoming the Ripple: Your Guide to Exponentially Increasing Your Professional Success and Influence. The book was the number one new release in the “decision-making” category on Amazon and a number four bestseller in the “mentoring and coaching” category.
Justice Walker, GEN’12, GR’19, assistant professor at University of Texas at El Paso, was recently awarded a $1.7 million National Science Foundation grant to research informal environmental learning through design, using modern biotechnology known as synthetic biology.
Lawrence Ward, GRD’11, was appointed the seventh president of the University of Hartford in July 2024. Previously, he served as vice president and dean of campus life at Babson College. In addition to his role as president, he will continue teaching as adjunct faculty in Penn GSE’s Exec Doc program.
Keisha Whaley, GED’17, was recently named co-chair of the development committee for the James Brister Society at Penn.
Taryn Williams, C’14, GED’15, recently started her doctoral program in teaching, learning, and educational
improvement at the University of California, Irvine, where she is involved in two research projects focused on equity in teaching and learning in various schools across Orange County, CA.
Qianqian Zhang-Wu, GED’14, was awarded the 2024 Northeastern University Excellence in Teaching Award. She also received a $50,000 research grant from the Spencer Foundation to study the raciolinguistic experiences of Asian American women scholars.
Cory Zoblin, GED’13, is the founding educator for We Love Philly’s state-approved cybersecurity pre-apprenticeship program.
2020s
Rahul Damania, GED'24, director of academic advising at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, continues his work in pediatric critical care education, including contributing to the development of a national curriculum for fellows. He has also integrated high-stakes exam preparation into undergraduate medical education, utilizing innovative technologies such as audio learning platforms and large language models to create adaptive, personalized learning experiences.
Pat Durkin, GED’21, accepted a position at the School District of Philadelphia, working in the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. He trains school administrators in restorative practices and oversees disciplinary hearings. He writes: “I work with students from all across the district to determine next steps that are in their best interest, helping them to learn and grow from their mistakes and work to restore harm done to their community.”
Leo Greenberry, GED’20, is chief of staff for Rep. Nancy Guenst (PA-152). He writes, “I have been lucky to work for leaders that do their best to work towards fairer funding in under-invested school districts. My everyday interactions with the public allow me to harness my social studies teaching skills, where I inform people about the different layers of government. Additionally, I recently founded my company Handheld History (FB, TikTok, Insta, etc.), where I sell ancient and medieval coins, so I get to talk about history all the time!”
Psacoya Guinn, GED’23, is the founding executive director of Trinity Theatre Group, a nonprofit that uses theatre to enhance literacy, foster social-emotional growth, and strengthen family dynamics for upper elementary students from underserved communities in New York City. In its first year, Trinity Theatre Group partnered with three schools in uptown Manhattan, with over 86 percent of students showing measurable improvements in vocabulary, story analysis, and teamwork.
Christopher Jaramillo, GED’20, became the first Latino to serve as school board director for the Norristown Area School District in January 2021. In December 2023, he was unanimously elected as the district’s first Latino board president. Norristown Area School District, located in Montgomery County, PA, serves a uniquely diverse student body, with about 50 percent Latino/x/e and 30 percent African American students.
Joseph Kemp, GED’21, is the CEO and founder of Games that Matter LLC. He launched his debut title, DISBARRED: The Card Game, on Kickstarter in November. DISBARRED is an innovative party game designed to engage and educate individuals on essential legal concepts, with a portion of the proceeds supporting law and pre-law students in need.
Haoyan Lin, GED’22, GED’23, is a behavioral health clinician at Beth Israel Lahey Health Beverly Outpatient
Clinic, where she supports children, adolescents, and families. She integrates family systems and cognitive behavioral approaches to foster emotional growth and healing. In addition to her clinical work, she supports online courses at Wharton Online.
Craig McKenzie, GED’20, D’21, recently started a new role as a full-time faculty member in the department of dental anesthesiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He also serves as the director of the Center for Patients with Special Needs.
Ricky Paredes, GED’23, is the founder and CEO of Scolafy Sports, a company that helps student-athletes secure brand deals, navigate “name, image, and likeness” financials, and raise funds for youth sports. He also coaches high school wrestling at Wheaton High School and pro-am basketball for the Kenner League at Georgetown University.
Megan Yoo Schneider, GED’23, GRD’24, was recently honored as an Orange County Visionary by the LA Times and named the 2024 Patient Honoree for the University of California, Irvine Anti-Cancer Challenge for her advocacy in raising awareness and supporting cancer research as an ovarian cancer survivor.
Cindy Shapira, GRD’22, has been appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro as the first chairwoman of the newly established Pennsylvania State Board of Higher Education. Created by the General Assembly, the board’s mission is to provide coordination, leadership, and capacity to enhance the accessibility and affordability of higher education across the state of Pennsylvania.
Michael Wade Smith, GRD’20, senior vice president and chief of staff at Penn State, has been appointed by Gov. Josh Shapiro to serve on Pennsylvania’s newly established State Board of Higher Education. This board, the first of its kind in the state, will craft a strategic plan for higher education, focusing on accessibility, affordability, and workforce alignment.
Klarissa Spencer, GED’20, has taken the role of program director at Easterseals Southeastern Pennsylvania, after 10 years with the School District of Philadelphia.
Marcus Wright, GED’14, GRD’23, published a children’s book, Henry’s Hoodie!, in 2023, which tells the story of a young Black boy who questions whether he can do great things without his beloved hoodie. He serves as the associate director of undergraduate studies at Penn’s Department of Sociology, a lecturer in management at the Wharton School, and he teaches success and choice in higher education at Penn GSE and cross-cultural leadership at Widener University.
William Zemp, GED’24, was awarded a fellowship with the Strategic Data Project through the Harvard Center for Education Policy Research. As part of this fellowship, he is working with the Wilmington Learning Collaborative, helping use data to improve student outcomes and experiences.
Submissions have been edited due to space constraints and magazine style guidelines.
and news.
5 Tips Advice from the Educator's Playbook
FOR DEALING WITH THE NEW FAFSA
Late this past summer, the US Department of Education announced that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, would be delayed for the second year in a row. The forms were redesigned in 2023 to be more streamlined and easier to fill to out—cutting down the number of questions from over 100 to under 20 for most people—but its rollout has been plagued with setbacks, mistakes, and technical issues.
During last year’s admissions cycle, this not only delayed financial aid offers for students, but it also meant that fewer students submitted the forms. By the beginning of May 2024, when most colleges require decision commitments for fall, FAFSA applications were down 20 percent from the same time the previous year, according to the National College Attainment Network’s FAFSA tracker.
For this year’s admission cycle, the FAFSA launched in late November, about two months late. So to help you—and any aspiring students in your life—hit the ground running, we turned to Penn's Vice Provost for Faculty and GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education Laura Perna, C’88, W’88, for some tips on navigating the new forms and potential challenges.
Perna is an expert in college access, affordability, and success, especially for low-income, first-generation, and nontraditional students. The cofounder of Penn GSE’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (Penn AHEAD), she has testified before Congress and advised university leaders and policymakers.
“I’m really worried about what the FAFSA troubles and delays mean for enrollment—especially for students from low-income families and students who are first in their families to attend college,” said Perna. “Those are the students who most need the financial aid, and they’re also the most likely to experience some sort of challenge in this process.”
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Persevere through the frustration.
It’s really important for people to complete the FAFSA. The published costs of going to college can be daunting, but many people don’t pay the sticker price because they get financial aid. The FAFSA is the way to get that aid. People who enroll in college without completing the FAFSA may be leaving money on the table. Other people may decide not to enroll because they think they can’t afford to go, when in fact, there may have been financial aid that could have helped pay those costs. So the most important recommendation is just complete it.
Create a Federal Student Aid ID.
As soon as possible, students should make a username and password combination on the studentaid.gov site. Having an online account is the first step to filling out the form. Please know that parents and guardians will need their own Federal Student Aid ID accounts for dependent students.
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Laura Perna Vice Provost for Faculty GSE Presidential Professor of Education
3. Reach out for help.
One of the many frustrating parts of the rollout is that students and families have had trouble getting through to the Department of Education’s customer service line. Others have gotten through but haven’t gotten answers that resolve their problem. Hopefully, these issues have been addressed. But people should know that there may be other sources of assistance, including their high school counselor or the financial aid office of the college they want to attend. Colleges have high interest in making sure that students get their financial aid offers, and they’re also experiencing frustration with the new system. Other organizations also offer assistance. uAspire is a nonprofit that offers virtual financial aid events and FAFSA completion tips. The National College Attainment Network has information on its website on FAFSA completion events in each state. Students and parents should do a search to identify resources in their state or local community.
4.
Make a list of the different school and scholarship deadlines and submit ahead of time.
It’s really important to pay attention to the deadlines. Some state grant aid and some institutional grant aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. That means once the funds are gone—even if you’re eligible—you don’t get them. This past year, some institutions made adjustments to recognize FAFSA-related problems, but students and families should be paying attention to application deadlines and doing their best to comply with them.
Don’t give up!
Please persist. There is money out there that can help pay the costs of college, but you have to make it through the system. This new FAFSA should be easier for students and parents to complete—once the system is fully functioning—but there may still be some bumps in the road ahead.
Looking for MORE ADVICE from experts?
These tips are adapted from the Educator's Playbook, a Penn GSE newsletter that distills faculty research into useful advice for educators and parents. Visit penng.se/playbook to sign up!
