People

Linda Darling-Hammond is President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University. She is author or editor of a number of award-winning books and more than 500 publications on education policy and practice. Her work focuses on achieving equitable and empowering education for all children through a focus on meaningful learning, educator quality, and adequate resources. Read more >

Patrick M. Shields is a member of LPI’s Early Childhood Learning Team, and is one of the co-authors of The Road to High-Quality Early Learning: Lessons from the States. Read more >

Jessica Cardichon is the Director of LPI’s Washington, DC office and also plays a leadership role in developing federal legislative and regulatory strategy. Read more >

Terry Godfrey serves as LPI’s Chief Financial and Administrative Officer. Godfrey brings to LPI more than 25 years of experience in consulting, finance, human resources, and venture capital. Read more >

Maria E. Hyler serves as the Deputy Director of the Learning Policy Institute (LPI)’s Washington, D.C. office. She co-leads LPI’s Educator Quality team and directs the Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab), LPI’s center on teacher and leader preparation for deeper learning and equity. Read more >

Tara Kini serves as the Learning Policy Institute’s Chief of Staff and Director of State Policy. She has co-authored several LPI reports, including serving as lead author of a comprehensive analysis of the impact of experience on teacher effectiveness, Does Teaching Experience Increase Teacher Effectiveness? A Review of the Research. Read more >

Monica Martinez provides strategic direction and support for multiple initiatives across LPI, most specifically focused on performance assessment. Martinez has spent her career focused on addressing college success from both the higher education level and the k–12 level. Read more >

Barbara McKenna is the Director of Strategic Communications. She oversees outreach relations for LPI, communicating LPI’s news to media and the public and serving as a resource for members of the press looking for research to inform education news of the day. Read more >

Carolyn Rutsch is the Director of Development. She cultivates and stewards relationships with LPI’s foundation funders, building and managing a pipeline of investors for its work. Read more >

Caitlin Scott provides research direction and support at LPI. For the past two decades, her publications have focused on educator learning and change, as well as improving educational systems at all levels, especially for students traditionally underserved by public schools. Read more >