Debbie Oakes

Alisha Alli currently serves as an executive assistant at EducationCounsel. Prior to joining the team, Alisha served as the Financial Coordinator and Operations Manager of a multinational organization for over five years. During her tenure, she supported the Executive Director in managing the daily business activities. Alisha holds an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from ABE, UK, an Advanced Diploma in Project Management from the Institute of Commercial...

Nathan Arnold previously served as Chief of Staff to the Acting Under Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. In those capacities he directed high-stakes policy initiatives, providing insight and guidance to the Under Secretary and Secretary of Education in the Obama and Trump Administrations. He helped lead the most recent administration transition in the Department, ensuring the continued delivery of Department services to the higher education community and...

Elysa Cash is a Policy Associate at EducationCounsel with a background in K-12 education research. Prior to joining EducationCounsel, Elysa taught math for six years, most recently with District of Columbia Public Schools. She also worked as a Pathways Intern with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where she examined data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress as it compared it to the increase in high school graduation rates across the country.
Elysa began her career in...

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...

Art Coleman is Managing Partner and co-founder of EducationCounsel LLC. He provides policy, strategic, and legal counseling services to national non-profit organizations, school districts, state agencies, and postsecondary institutions throughout the country, where he addresses issues associated with:

student access, diversity, inclusion, expression, and success;
faculty diversity, inclusion and expression; and
institutional accountability and accreditation.

Mr. Coleman previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, where, in the 1990s, he led the Department’s...

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...

Kristin Herrmann has worked in early childhood, K-12, and higher education federal policy for over 15 years. Previously, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in Legislative and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education.  She spent over six years on Capitol Hill working for Senator Lamar Alexander as his Senior Education Policy Advisor on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. She also served as Senator Mike DeWine’s education and child policy staffer. She began her career...

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...

Jasmine Jett is a Policy Associate at EducationCounsel, with experience in K-12 education and policy research. Prior to joining EducationCounsel, Jasmine served as a 2020-21 Texas Policy Fellow with Teach Plus. Jasmine began her career in education as a 2017 Teach for America corps member in Houston, Texas. She taught 5th grade science, and 2nd grade math and science, in HISD for several years. Jasmine is a former Policy and Advocacy Fellow with Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) and...

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...

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...

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...

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.

Taylor Shotwell is a Policy Associate at EducationCounsel with a range of experiences in higher education policy and research. Prior to joining EducationCounsel, Taylor was the policy research associate at the Association of American Universities, where she helped build their research portfolio on racial and gender equity in higher education. Taylor began her career as an analyst on the 2020 Census Integrated Communications Campaign at PSB. Taylor holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science with a minor in Gender, Race,...

Bridget Smith is a Policy Associate at EducationCounsel. Prior to joining EducationCounsel, Bridget worked as a research assistant for Dr. Amber Rowland at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. Bridget’s interest in the intersection of policy and education led her to intern for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, the U.S. Senate, and the Scottish Parliament. As the sister of someone with Down syndrome, Bridget’s past experiences have focused on disability, special...

Dr. Zakiya Smith Ellis is a Principal at Education Counsel, where she helps clients navigate the current education policy climate to develop solutions that improve equity and outcomes for students. Before joining Education Counsel, Zakiya held the role of chief policy advisor to Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) and previously served as New Jersey’s Secretary of Higher Education. Twice named one of Forbes’ top 30 under 30 in education earlier in her career, Dr. Ellis is a respected public policy...

Vasilisa “Lisa” Smith is a Policy Associate at EducationCounsel. Prior to her role at EducationCounsel, she taught elementary special education in Chicago, IL. She holds a Master of Arts in Teaching, as well as a Master of Public Policy degree. Her policy experience centers around K-12 education, special education policy and education finance, while her advocacy experience ranges from increasing access to the ballot and protecting reproductive rights. She has previously served as a press intern for Senator Jeff...