EdSource Staff

Trish Williams has served as EdSource's Executive Director since 1992 and is responsible for strategic planning, business and fund development, board relations, and staffing. She is also responsible for oversight of mission-based program development. In recent years, EdSource has expanded its research role, with Williams serving as the study project director for both the Similar Students and the Similar English Learner Students research projects. Under Williams leadership, EdSource has also broadened the scope of education policy topics it studies, diversified and significantly increased its audience reach within California and nationally, and enhanced its reputation as a unique, trusted, and credible resource for independent and impartial information on California's most important K-12 issues, including school finance. Before coming to EdSource, Williams served as a Presidential Management Intern and then as a management analyst for three years in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She subsequently served eight years as a program and policy consultant to the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, an agency that oversees the state departments that serve children. When her two sons were in K-12 public schools, Williams was an active volunteer from elementary through high school, including ten years as an Odyssey of the Mind team coach and school coordinator in addition to service to the district as chair of the Budget Advisory Committee. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and a M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Tulsa.

Mary Perry has served as the Deputy Director of EdSource since 1993 and is widely known for her expertise in California school finance. In 2006, she was the study project director for a collaborative partnership between EdSource and School Services of California under the auspices of the Getting Down to Facts portfolio of school finance studies. EdSource's work yielded a groundbreaking report in March 2007 called School District Finance Management: Personnel, Policies, and Practices. Perry works with the executive director on personnel, budget development, and overall agency planning. She also oversees the execution of the annual publication series and the agency’s three websites, including the Ed-Data Partnership website. As the senior publications writer, she is the managing editor of all EdSource publications and the lead author of several each year. She served as a member of the governing board of the Campbell Union School District from 1990-99, including two years as board president, and also chaired a local bond election campaign. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon and a M.A. in Liberal Arts from Stanford University.

Brian Edwards has been a Senior Policy Analyst at EdSource since 2002. He is responsible for monitoring and analyzing state and federal policy action; overseeing select data analyses; publication research, writing, and project management; and representing EdSource on advisory committees for research and evaluation projects. Edwards is responsible for the agency's annual reports updating the state's education budget and charter school performance. Before coming to EdSource, Edwards was a Policy Analyst, Office of the Secretary of Education, and a Research Assistant, Public Policy Institute of California. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a M.A. in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Matt Rosin has been a Senior Research Associate at EdSource since August 2007. He is responsible for publication research, writing, and project management. Prior to joining EdSource, Rosin worked as a Research Scholar at The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Stanford, California. He is co-author (with William M. Sullivan) of A New Agenda for Higher Education: Shaping a Life of the Mind for Practice (Jossey-Bass, 2008), and author of Obsoleting Culture (forthcoming). Rosin holds a Ph.D. in Education and a M.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University and a B.A. in Philosophy from Texas A&M University.

Heather Barondess is a Research and Policy Associate who joined EdSource in September 2007. She is responsible for data management and analysis, policy analysis, and research and writing for EdSource publications, websites, and special projects. Barondess received a Masters of Public Policy in May 2007 from the University of California, Berkeley with a focus on education policy and reform and on policies affecting children and families. Most recently, she was a policy intern with Children Now. She also served as a summer research associate with Mass Insight Education in Boston and a policy analyst for Bay Area Partnership for Children and Youth in Oakland. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Bordeaux, France where she conducted independent research and observations in France's universal pre-kindergarten system. She holds a B.A. in Child Development from Tufts University.

Julian Leichty is a Research Assistant who joined EdSource in September 2007. He provides research and writing support for EdSource’s core program areas and special projects. Leichty was a Fulbright Fellow in Taiwan from August 2006 to July 2007, where he studied and practiced the teaching of English as a foreign language. He has held numerous internships with such agencies and organizations as the Rhode Island Departments of Education and of Children, Youth, and Families as well as the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the Fresno Unified School District. He holds an B.A. in Education Studies and Public Policy and American Institutions from Brown University.

Kathy Wilson is a Research Assistant who has been with EdSource since 2006. Wilson supports the agency's program with assistance on data analysis and presentation, literature review, editing, planning, and support on the annual Forum and other convenings. In addition, she provides executive and fund development support. Wilson previously worked as an intern in the departments of Economics and Political Science at Santa Clara University. She also interned at Hedrick Smith Productions in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She holds a B.S. in Political Science and German Studies from Santa Clara University, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Penny Howell is a Program Consultant who provides staff support to the Ed-Data Partnership and assists with editing and proofreading publications. She joined the fledgling "Coalition for Fair School Finance” as a volunteer soon after it was formed 30 years ago and was the primary writer for many years. Before coming to EdSource, she worked in the population program of the Ford Foundation and for Planned Parenthood of Santa Clara County. She was elected three times to the Las Lomitas Elementary Governing Board and spent ten years on the Board of Directors of Castilleja School in Palo Alto. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College.

Susan Frey is a Program Associate who has been at EdSource since 1999. She is responsible for editing all publications and overseeing their design and printing. She also researches and writes parent guides, issue briefs, voter guides, articles for the website, informational materials, and occasional reports. She is responsible for managing all phases of EdSource's Resource Cards from research to printing. Frey also serves as secretary for Friends of African Village Libraries (www.favl.org), a nonprofit that builds libraries and promotes the culture of reading in sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from Ohio State University and a B.A. in Journalism from San Jose State University.

Ellen Kitamura is a Grants Manager who has been with EdSource since 1996. She is responsible for the overall management of the fund development program, including monitoring of all funder deadlines, guidelines, and program priorities; preparing grant reports; and assisting the executive director in developing proposals. She also supports the executive director in board development and communications. She also edits the EdSource Extra newsletter. Before joining EdSource, she served as public relations account manager with Bozell & Jacobs/Pacific in Honolulu and provided faculty support at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She has held numerous leadership positions in the League of Women Voters, including service on the League of Women Voters of California board of directors as editor/public relations director and later as LWVC development director. She is a former member of the EdSource board of directors and Philips Brooks School board of trustees. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Mary Kraemer is a Web Editor who joined EdSource in 2007. She is responsible for updates and maintenance of the EdSource and California School Finance websites. Her tasks include content editing, posting, quality control, and working with graphics. She also sends mailing list messages to the EdSource and Ed-Data communities when there are new and important changes to the websites. Her prior experience includes technical editing for software companies such as Adobe, Macromedia, and Informix as well as editing trade magazines such as MacUser, MacGuide, and PV International. She has served as secretary of the board for the Society of Technical Communication, Silicon Valley chapter. She is an active volunteer in her children's public schools and also volunteers at the Palo Alto Children's Theater. She holds a B.A. with honors in English literature from Western Maryland College.

Peg Austin is the Office & Distributions Manager and has been at EdSource since 1990. She is responsible for office management, overseeing the constituent database, sales and distribution of publications, videos, and DVDs, and customer support. She is currently Board Vice President of California Art in Action and has been a PTA president and treasurer of a local theatre group. She holds a B.A. in French from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Rae Ann Ewbank has been Finance Manager at EdSource since 1993. She is responsible for agency and grant budget development and monitoring, accounts payable, payroll, and benefits administration; and assists in preparation for the agency's annual audit. Ewbank is a former PTA Treasurer at the unit, council, and district levels; and a former Co-Chair, Fremont Union High School District Budget Advisory Committee. She holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Hawaii.

Maggie Rancatore is a Senior Administrative Associate at EdSource and has been with the organization since 1999. She is responsible for administrative, program, and customer support, and assists with outreach efforts and Forum logistics. Before coming to EdSource, she worked as a library instructional aide with the Los Altos School District (LASD). She has served as the Mountain View High School Parent Association president, as president at the California State PTA unit and council levels, and on the LASD Long Range Planning Committee. She holds a B.S. degree in Business from San Francisco State University.

Raquel Shatterly joined EdSource as an Administrative Assistant in October 2007. She provides administrative, program, and customer support for the EdSource team. Before joining EdSource, she was an office manager for a local energy conservation consulting firm for almost 10 years. She was an active public school volunteer during her children’s school years. She currently volunteers at her grandson’s pre-school program and for a food for low-income families program. She is a candidate for a B.A. in English at San Jose State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.A. in Liberal Arts – Business and Information Systems from De Anza Community College.

Smita Patel is a Communications and Web Consultant for EdSource. She coordinated the first redesign of EdSource Online in 2000 and the development of a content management system and e-commerce capability for the website in 2001. Since that time, she has worked with EdSource on a variety of projects. She is responsible for coordinating website projects and helping EdSource maintain a strong and consistent web presence. She also volunteers actively for the Mountain Children’s Forum, a project to empower children in rural mountain communities. She holds a B.A. with honors in Journalism from San Jose State University.

Kathy Schroeder is a Communications and Marketing Consultant for EdSource. She has worked with EdSource on a variety of projects, including the October 19, 2007 Education Policy Convening and the 2008 Annual EdSource Forum. Prior to working with EdSource, she taught in the Continuing Studies program at Stanford University and was a copywriter for McKinley Media. She also served as vice president of communications for Palo Alto Partners in Education and the All Schools Fund. She co-authored Inside Intuit: How the Makers of Quicken Defeated Microsoft and Revolutionized an Entire Industry (Harvard Business School Press). She holds a M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.S. in business from Indiana University.