NEPC Topic Experts on K-12 Education

Michelle Renée Valladares is Associate Director of the National Education Policy Center and Faculty Affiliate of the CU Boulder School of Education. She leads and partners in a series of projects that aim to increase educational opportunities for all students. This includes serving as CO-PI of the Research Hub for Youth Organizing and the Price of Opportunity Project, as the media and policymaker contact for NEPC, and as a member of the Schools of Opportunity Project leadership.  Michelle leads a Research Hub study of youth organizing and &youth development in California and supervises a research practice partnership with the Cuba Independent School District in New Mexico. For the Price of Opportunity, Michelle leads our partnerships with school finance advocates, contributes to research design, analysis and writing and manages the project team. Michelle also co-leads the Caminos de Bilinguismo partnership with Boulder Valley School District. Michelle has conducted original research on indicator systems, youth and adult education organizing, parent and family engagement, and school turnaround. Michelle has a PhD in education from the University of California, Los Angeles.  

Email Michelle Renée Valladares at: michelle.valladares@colorado.edu

Mark Weber is the Special Analyst for Education Policy at the New Jersey Policy Perspective, and a Lecturer at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he earned his PhD. Weber also works as a public school teacher in Warren Township, NJ. His research projects include the School Finance Indicators Database, the nation’s most comprehensive source of school finance data and analysis. In addition to many journal articles and book chapters, Weber has authored many education policy briefs, including works for the Shanker Institute, the Education Law Center, the Fordham Foundation, and others. Weber’s research concentrates on school choice, school finance, teacher preparation and quality, and arts education, with a particular focus on equity. 

Email Mark Weber at: mark.weber@gse.rutgers.edu

Joshua Weishart is a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. His research and advocacy center on education rights under federal and state law, especially state constitutions. Within that discipline, his scholarship has focused on issues of school funding, democratic education, integration, and teacher rights. Weishart’s law journal publications include articles in the Stanford Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, Florida Law Review, and U.C. Davis Law Review. Other works include chapters in edited collections such as the Oxford Handbook on U.S. Education Law.

Email Joshua Weishart at joshua.weishart@suffolk.edu

Jennie Whitcomb is the principal of Sacred Heart Preparatory, a Catholic, independent high school in Northern California. Prior to joining Sacred Heart in 2015, she was the Associate Dean of Teacher Education at CU Boulder (2002-2015) and Director of Teacher Education at the University of Denver (1997-2002). Committed to quality teaching and teacher education, her scholarship has focused on teacher learning and teacher education policy and program design. From 2005-2009 she co-edited the Journal of Teacher Education, and in 2014 she was elected to the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education’s Board. Her turn from university teacher preparation to the daily life of a high school affords her opportunities to live her commitments to quality teaching and to fostering a vibrant, affirming school community focused on delivering powerful learning experiences that guide students to find their purpose and to serve their community.

Email Jennie Whitcomb at: jennie.whitcomb@outlook.com