In order to meet the growing national demand for College & Career pathways, the ConnectED team is growing. We are excited to announce the addition of two new members to the ConnectED staff, as well as a new board member.

Jason Quiara joins us as the Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer, and will be heading up our efforts to expand the number of districts and regions around the country committed to using Linked Learning, or College and Career Pathways, as their primary high school reform approach. Before joining ConnectED, Jason was a Senior Program Officer for the Education and Economic Mobility Program at the Joyce Foundation. He led a national college- and career-readiness investment strategy and managed the Great Lakes College and Career Pathways Partnership – a multi-state effort that expanded innovative education pathways that put students on a path to earn college degrees and credentials.

Before Joyce, Jason worked at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and led a national policy initiative to expand Early College High Schools and dual enrollment programs across the country. In describing the reason why Jason wanted to join the ConnectED team, he responded, “An excellent education is the best strategy for families to achieve economic mobility and the stakes have never been higher for young people – especially youth from low-income households and kids of color. After observing its excellent work over the last several years, I’m excited to join ConnectED and partner with educators and community leaders to help students reach their full potential. By creating meaningful college and career experiences for the next generation, I’m hopeful that our work will help ensure students are on a path to succeed in the classroom, workplace and life.”

Megan Reed is our new Director of Development, and brings with her over twenty years of writing experience in both the public and private sectors. For the past ten years, she has been both a grant writer and grant manager in the non-profit sector, with a particular emphasis on services for underserved youth. Megan is also a long-time teacher, having taught English literature, writing, art and humanities at various colleges and universities. When asked what she’s most excited about in her new role, Megan said “It’s especially inspiring to me how pathways can prepare students for the world of work and/or college who are often otherwise under-served, or worse, left behind. In a quickly changing job landscape this work is especially critical if we are going to prepare the next generation to succeed; I am honored to help support this mission.”

We are thrilled that Dr. Sri Ananda has joined ConnectED’s Board. Before recently retiring, Sri served in many different capacities for over 25 years at WestEd, a distinguished not-for-profit organization with 17 offices across the country. Most recently, as Chief Program Officer, she had executive responsibility over all programs of research, development, and service work. Prior to that, she served as WestEd’s Chief Development Officer, in charge of business development and partnerships for the agency. And Sri is a highly accomplished researcher, having served as Principal Investigator and Project Director on multiple projects designed to investigate and support the integration of career and college preparation for American youth. We are so fortunate to have the benefit of her broad and deep expertise on so many important fronts!