Dr. Shanika Hope possesses over 25 years of experience in education, and is the current Director for Tech Ed at Google. Shanika is a former elementary school teacher, principal and high school turnaround specialist. She has managed and/or supported more than three dozen DC public schools and public charter schools in various capacities. Prior to her current role as Director, Computer Science Insights and Outreach at Google, Shanika’s previous roles include several leadership roles in computer science content and researcher at Amazon, Vice President of National Urban Markets Initiatives at McGraw Hill Education; Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction at Discovery Education, as well as time as an Assistant Superintendent of Elementary & Secondary Education for the Washington, DC State Education Office. She also served as a school Principal and teacher in both Washington, D.C. and Virginia.
Ms. Michele Chang was appointed by President Biden to be the first to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). She is a seasoned executive with nearly 20 years of experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining EDA, Ms. Chang most recently was the Executive Director of the Rework America Business Network at the Markle Foundation, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies to help American workers without four-year degrees get the skills they need to access quality jobs.
Rachel Hirsch serves as a senior policy analyst for the Economic Opportunity Division of the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, where she works to assist states in scaling and strengthening best practices in postsecondary education and workforce development. Her areas of focus include work-based learning and apprenticeship, sector partnerships and industry engagement, supportive services for those with barriers to employment, and reskilling and upskilling for adults.
Before working at NGA, Rachel was state network manager at National Skills Coalition. There, she led the organization’s first-ever policy academy on work-based learning. She organized multiple statewide coalitions towards achieving policy impacts in expanding access to and success in education and training programs. Earlier in her career, Rachel ran a research project based out of Northwestern University focused on helping underserved high school youth improve their performance in job interviews. During graduate school, Rachel also held an internship on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Rachel received her Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and her Bachelor of Arts in communication studies from Northwestern University. Rachel originally hails from Illinois.
Jaimie M. Francis is executive director of programs and policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Center for Education and Workforce—the nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce dedicated to strengthening the nation’s educational standards and the quality of its workforce.
Francis develops and oversees the Chamber Foundation’s programs for postsecondary education and workforce development. She manages its Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) initiative and its 300+ member National Learning Network of TPM practitioners. Francis is a faculty member for the TPM Academy®, an in-person training for state and local chamber, business association, and economic development agency leaders, as well as employers, to learn the TPM approach to drive partnerships with their education and training providers based on industry need.
Francis authored Learning to Work, Working to Learn, which highlights how employers can become more active participants in their higher education partnerships, and The Path Forward: Forging Partnerships to Improve Education, a guide on brokering partnerships between nontraditional allies. In addition, she was instrumental on the research team for the publication Leaders & Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education, focusing on transparency and accountability. She also oversaw the reprisal of the first Leaders & Laggards, which examined K−12 educational effectiveness.
Earlier in her career, Francis worked for the Division of Student and Academic Support Services at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She began her career as an admissions counselor for her undergraduate alma mater, Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in sociology. She received her Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Francis lives in Washington, D.C.
Laurie Kierstead-Joseph is motivated to serve on the COABE Board to support Region 5 students and teachers through high-quality professional learning and highlighting the impact and importance of adult education. Laurie has served in adult education for nearly 20 years. She began her career as a volunteer in the ESL classroom and quickly discovered that adult education was where she was meant to be. After seven years of teaching ESL, Laurie stepped into professional development, training, and program leadership roles. She has 11 years of experience leading the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational programming. Laurie has a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and a master’s degree in Leadership in Higher Education. She has completed the Leadership Excellence Academy and the Professional Development Leadership Academy, multi-year programs that helped develop her strengths in program improvement through data-driven decision-making, sustained job-embedded professional development, and change management. She has been a member of COABE and her state association, AALL, for years – including having served on the AALL Board as Board President. As a COABE member, she has presented workshops and webinars about developing Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs. As AALL Board President, she led the Board in broadening the focus beyond professional development to include advocacy and networking to strengthen the field of adult education. Read More.