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Ash is President and CEO of ConnectED. He previously worked at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he served as Senior Vice President since 2022 and Vice President from 2016-2022. While there, in collaboration with the Carnegie President and Board of Directors, he developed two strategic priorities to guide the Foundation’s work over the next decade: (1) improve educational outcomes for marginalized students and (2) address educational inequities that impede economic mobility and exacerbate racial inequality. To address these priorities, Ash developed and launched multi-year national district leadership networks to support systems transformation for scaling engaging and effective instructional designs. He also developed and launched a national improvement-leadership development initiative with eleven higher education institutions and LEA partners designed to strengthen capabilities for solving enduring problems of practice within school systems.
Ash Vasudeva
Ash is President and CEO of ConnectED. He previously worked at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he served as Senior Vice President since 2022 and Vice President from 2016-2022. While there, in collaboration with the Carnegie President and Board of Directors, he developed two strategic priorities to guide the Foundation’s work […]
Ash Vasudeva
Ash is President and CEO of ConnectED. He previously worked at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he served as Senior Vice President since 2022 and Vice President from 2016-2022. While there, in collaboration with the Carnegie President and Board of Directors, he developed two strategic priorities to guide the Foundation’s work […]
Adam Anderson (Treasurer)
Adam Anderson has extensive experience leading strategy, transformation, and operations in public, private, and nonprofit organizations nationwide. He currently uses his experience to support leaders in a range of organizations and most recently was an Executive Director at the Boston Consulting Group. In addition to serving on the ConnectEd Board, Adam also serves on the […]
Alexandra Kennedy
Alexandra (Alex) Kennedy is an accomplished leader with experience scaling and operationalizing lines of business, leading commercial teams, and driving digital transformation journeys. Alex is the Executive Vice President of Commercial Strategy at My Code Media. In this role, she leads teams accountable for driving revenue, sales operations, and M&A strategy and integration efforts. Prior […]
Jeffrey Fisher
Jeff Fisher is a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm of Farella Braun + Martel. He has a diverse practice involving a variety of high-stakes intellectual property and technology disputes, including patent, trade secret, copyright, and trademark infringement, as well as antitrust and unfair competition cases. He serves as co-chair of Farella’s Litigation Department. Jeff […]
Daphannie Stephens
Daphannie Stephens is ConnectED’s Chief Program Officer. Her work experience clearly demonstrates strong leadership skills, commitment to coaching and a belief in high-quality teaching and learning. As Director of Leadership Connection for Justice in Education (LCJE) and Coordinator of Public Programs at UC Berkeley, Daphannie led the development and adoption of a strategic plan, supported […]
Deanna Penales
Deanna Penales is an Accountant at ConnectED, working with the Finance Team. Deanna has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Accountancy from California State University of Sacramento. Three years ago, Deanna decided to move from her hometown of Sacramento to San Francisco to pursue a career in and expand her knowledge of Accounting/Finance. She has […]
Sri Ananda, PhD (Board Chair)
Dr. Sri Ananda served for over 25 years as a leader in a renowned educational research organization, heading national and statewide research and development efforts related to college and career preparation. Her most recent position was as Chief Program Officer at WestEd, a distinguished not-for-profit organization with 17 offices across the US. As Chief Program […]
Mary Adams
Mary has over 25 years of experience as an Executive Assistant, supporting C-suite executives in both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Before joining ConnectED, she spent 17 years at NAF supporting the CEO. Prior to NAF, Mary worked for a semiconductor company in the Silicon Valley supporting the Chairman and CEO. She resides in Hollister, CA.
Gary Hoachlander
Gary Hoachlander is a Senior Fellow at ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career. Beginning his career in 1966 as a brakeman for the Western Maryland Railroad, he has devoted most of his professional life to helping young people learn by doing—connecting education to the opportunities, challenges, and many different rewards to be found […]