GEORGIA
Row 1 (seated left to right): Tamika Witcher, Shannon Wilder, Doris Christopher, Jill Joplin, Deborah White, Susan Walker, Julie Pennybacker
Row 2 (seated left to right): Andrew Broy
Row 3 (standing left to right): Cerrice Sanders, Taifa Butler, Marcus Downs, Sheila Cornelius, Angela Palm, Atiba Mbiwan, Rhonda Hefner-Packer, Welch Suggs, Bill Rainwater, Jerome Morris, Rene Pennington
Not Pictured: Lauren Veasey, Kelley Dean (Coordinator)
The Georgia Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) is a professional development program that provides potential leaders with the knowledge and networks to advance the core issues of education policy. This is a critical resource for individuals, organizations, and the state to increase the knowledge about education policy and linkages between policy and practice. Ultimately, EPFP seeks to improve the chances of children and youth to succeed. Fellows commit nine months and concentrate on three program strands: leadership, public policy, and professional networking. Fellows will remain in their full-time positions and use their work environment as the context for examining important leadership and policy issues in Georgia. EPFP Fellows are given the opportunity to develop a broadened understanding of the policy process within the multifaceted context of education policy and related issues; hone communication and advocacy skills; refine their potential for leadership; and expand their network of professional colleagues. The program provides Fellows with a unique personal development laboratory for applying new insights and for cultivating new skills. The participants will hear and discuss education policy with highly respected policy makers in both Georgia and the nation. At the end of the year, EPFP Fellows will be better informed, more skillful advocates for sound public policy. Georgia EPFP is an initiative of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. There are also two co-sponsors, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach at The University of Georgia.
GEORGIA COORDINATOR
Kelley M. Dean
Policy Analyst
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
233 Peachtree Street
Suite 2000 (Harris Tower)
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1402
(404) 223-2492
kdean@gpee.org
Kelley Dean began working with the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education in 2005. As a part-time Policy Analyst, Kelley is responsible for creating and implementing this program that will be a critical resource for individuals, organizations, and the state to increase knowledge about education policy and linkages between policy and practice. Previously, she contracted with the Partnership on several projects including the Education Policy Primer and Economics of Education publication.
Kelley began her education career as a fifth grade teacher with Teach for America in Atlanta. She was then selected as a St. Louis Fellow in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs where she completed several large-scale projects in a variety of sectors.
Kelley earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University. Currently, she is a Dean’s Scholar Fellow working on a Ph.D. in Public Policy in a joint degree program between Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Her major is education policy and minor is program analysis and evaluation. During her graduate work, Kelley has also worked on several research projects including a statewide evaluation of the North Carolina Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund and a randomized Pre-K study funded by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
Through all of her work, Kelley hopes to directly impact the learning of students by creating, implementing, and evaluating policies that improve educational opportunities - especially for traditionally underserved populations.