The Board of Directors of Research for Action (RFA)—a Philadelphia-based nonprofit education research organization—has launched a search for a new Executive Director to advance the organization’s growing influence in education research and policy across the United States. The board has retained the executive search firm NPAG to conduct the search, which officially launched on Monday, April 19, 2021.
“RFA equips policymakers, school districts and institutions of higher education, administrators, communities, as well as many other partner organizations and the public, with data-driven information and recommendations they need to improve equity and education outcomes for disadvantaged students,” said James Earl Davis, Ph.D., RFA Board Chair. “We are now seeking a dynamic leader with experience in the education research realm who will build on RFA’s momentum as a go-to organization for qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and policy research.”
RFA’s leader will be charged with overseeing a talented staff of 35 to ensure that RFA’s external commitment to using research as a tool to identify and address systemic inequities in education is reflected in its research products and public reports, as well as its internal organizational systems and culture. He/she will also provide strategic oversight and direction for its portfolio of more than two dozen projects for a range of local and national funders across the education landscape—ranging from pre-k, K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and out-of-school time sectors.
The announcement comes after former RFA Executive Director Kate Shaw announced her departure effective December 2020.
“We are thankful to Kate for her long-standing commitment to RFA,” said Davis. “Kate ushered RFA through 11 years of significant growth, demonstrable impact, and sustainability. The organization is now in an exceptionally strong position and is poised for even greater success in this next chapter.”
RFA has a nearly 30-year history of conducting robust research and actionable guidance on the most pressing educational issues of our time. The organization's impactful research is grounded in its mission to make education systems and programs more equitable, effective, and accessible. Learn more at www.researchforaction.org.
For more information about the position, please contact Cara Pearsall at [email protected].
