Amanda Bean

Jennifer Castagna previously served as a Professional Staff Member for the Senate Minority (Republican) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. In this capacity, Castagna helped oversee appropriations for the U.S. Department of Education, including pre-kindergarten through grade 12, special education, and higher education funding. Prior to joining the Senate Appropriations Committee, Castagna was a Vice President for Washington Partners LLC, a government relations firm primarily focused on serving clients interested in the area of...

With extensive background in providing legal, policy, strategic planning, and advocacy services to educators throughout the country, Mr. Coleman addresses issues of access, accountability, and completion in elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.
Mr. Coleman is a 1984 honors graduate of Duke University School of Law and a 1981 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia. Mr. Coleman served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights from June 1997 until January 2000,...

David Dixon previously led and managed recruitment of non-traditional undergraduate students as Assistant Director of Admission at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, where he also worked as an admission counselor and admission assistant recruiting high school seniors. He has also assisted international students with the F-1 Visa process as a Designated School Official with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, worked with DACA/undocumented students, and served on the university’s Title IX Judicial Review Board. His passion for education policy...

Heidi Ellis’ responsibilities include advising senior leadership, team management, and team development. Before joining EducationCounsel, she worked in the Obama Administration as a senior advisor in strategic stakeholder engagement, to the Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While at the EPA, she focused on developing and implementing various initiatives to expand the conversation around environmentalism. Heidi worked for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection before moving to Washington, DC. She is originally from New Jersey and...

Danielle Ewen has served in numerous leadership positions in child care and early education policy. She previously served as the Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education in the District of Columbia Public Schools, where she oversaw the operations of programs serving three- and four-year old children in high quality, comprehensive classrooms. Prior to her work in DCPS, Ms. Ewen served as the Director of the Child Care and Early Education team at the Center for...

Mara Goby graduated from Georgetown University in 2016. Before joining EducationCounsel, she interned with the U.S. Department of Education in the Office of the Secretary where she worked on teacher engagement issues. Prior to this, she interned with College Track Los Angeles, California State Senator Carol Liu’s Office, and the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, where she gained experience addressing the intersection between poverty and education.

Dan Gordon formerly served the District of Columbia Public Schools as a senior advisor for school design; as deputy chief academic officer for college and career readiness, early childhood education, language acquisition, and out-of-school time programs; and as chief of staff to the chief academic officer. Previously, he was a lead English teacher at Columbia Heights Education Campus in Washington, D.C. He started his career as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Educational...

Ms. Holahan provides legal, policy, and strategic planning support to organizations on education policy matters with a focus on disability-related issues, special education, school climate and discipline, and the advancement of innovative strategies to improve student outcomes, particularly in high-poverty, low-performing schools. Previously, Ms. Holahan was Managing Attorney of the Children-at-Risk unit of Connecticut Legal Services, Inc., a statewide group of attorneys who advocated through systemic policy change and individual representation for improved access to quality education for...

Before joining EducationCounsel, Sandi Jacobs was the Senior Vice President for State and District Policy at the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). At NCTQ, she oversaw all teacher policy work, including direct work with states and testimony and presentations for national and local audiences. She also developed and managed NCTQ’s comprehensive State Teacher Policy Yearbook. Prior to that, Ms. Jacobs worked at the U.S. Department of Education as a Senior Education Program Specialist for the Reading First and...

Ms. Johnson previously was a public policy research assistant for The College Board, where she worked on the K-12 Policy Team and conducted in-depth policy scans of all 50 states regarding a range of topics. Ms. Johnson also gained certification to teach elementary education as a DC Teaching Fellows Resident and subsequently taught third grade in Washington, D.C. for two years.
Ms. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Education from University of California, Berkley...

Prior to joining EducationCounsel, Jessi worked as a Policy Advocate for Generation Progress, the youth engagement arm of the Center for American Progress. Jessi’s work focused on addressing the issue of college academic preparedness after high school graduation, higher-education affordability, accessibility, and quality, to ensure that all individuals are able to obtain a college education without the burden of financial hardship.As an advocate for students, she served on the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking committee which established the Revised Pay...

The EducationCounsel leadership team includes former U.S. Secretary of Education and former South Carolina Governor Richard Riley. During his tenure with the U.S. Department of Education, Secretary Riley helped launch historic education initiatives to raise academic standards; improve instruction for the poor and disadvantaged; increase parental and business involvement; establish afterschool academic enrichment programs; support training and professional development for teachers; expand grants and loans to help more students attend college; foster international education; prepare young people for...

Mr. Palmer provides policy, legal, strategic planning, and advocacy services to education leaders across the country, including state/national policy counsel and federal advocacy before the White House, U.S. Department of Education, and Congress. He works on a wide range of major reforms, from designing K-12 policies that promote college and career readiness, to building comprehensive birth-to-five early learning systems, to promoting access and diversity in higher education. Mr. Palmer previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at...

Bethany Little is a Principal at EducationCounsel, LLC where she supports foundations, education associations and other nonprofits with support in advancing improvements in education outcomes from early childhood through higher education. Little has spent twenty years working in government and non-profit organizations, including the White House, where she was education advisor to President Clinton and Vice President Gore on the Domestic Policy Council, and the U.S. Department of Education. In the U.S. Senate, she served as Chief Education Counsel...

Sandy Rinck serves as a Special Advisor to Secretary Riley, representing him on public education and other matters in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the nation. With experience in the Legislative and Executive branches of government, as well as in the private and nonprofit sectors, she serves clients seeking information, access, and strategic advice regarding education and other government programs, policies, procedures, and personnel. Her network spans the education spectrum and other government-related people and entities.

Erin Patterson is a Policy Assistant with EducationCounsel. Her background in education policy and practice includes experience in the non-profit sector, philanthropy, federal policy, and as a classroom teacher. Erin was previously a Program Associate at the American Youth Policy Forum, a D.C.-based education policy convener. Her portfolio included projects to align youth-serving systems and enable a continuum of success for students from K-12 to postsecondary and the workforce. She authored and co-authored several briefs and publications, convened federal...

Emily Webb is a Policy Assistant at EducationCounsel with experience in K-12 education, post-secondary education, and national service. Previously, she served as a Legislative Fellow for U.S. Senator Richard Durbin where she advised the Senator on issues related to increasing access to and quality of post-secondary education, as well as national service initiatives. Emily was also a Senior Associate with the Urban Education Leaders Internship Program at D.C. Public Schools, an intern in the U.S. Department...

Steve Winnick is experienced in federal education law and policy, particularly at the elementary and secondary levels, in postsecondary accreditation, and in the civil rights area, as well as in the federal ethics area. Mr. Winnick’s goal is to help states, school districts, and accreditation agencies leverage federal law to meet their educational goals and avoid compliance problems. He also engages in advocacy before the United States Department of Education. Mr. Winnick focuses on issues related to the No...

Jess Wood supports states and districts to strengthen the quality of educator evaluation and professional development systems.  Jess is also a co-author of the book Better Feedback for Better Teaching, a practical guide to improving classroom observations.  Previously, Jess led development of an online observer training system for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Prior to coming to DCPS, Jess taught sixth and seventh grade humanities for five years in New York City, concurrently working as a literacy...

Kathryn Young’s experience in education policy, practice, and research includes leadership and management roles; Capitol Hill and Executive Branch experience; advocacy strategy development; facilitation, technical assistance, and public speaking; and school program administration and classroom teaching. She previously served as director of National Education Policy for Jobs for the Future where she led federal and national education and youth policy efforts with a focus on secondary and postsecondary education and the workforce. She has served as a policy advisor...