Susan Sclafani

FWE Vice President & Steering Committee Member, Former Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Education

Former U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education and a current member of the FWE Steering Committee. Among her prior positions are vice president for program management at Pearson Education Services, director of state services at the National Center on Education and the Economy, and U.S. representative to both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Prior to entering the Federal government, Dr. Sclafani served as chief academic officer of the Houston Independent School District in Texas, one of the nation’s largest urban school districts. She earned a PhD in educational administration at the University of Texas, Austin.

Laura Hamilton

Senior Director of Education Measurement and Assessment at American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Laura Hamilton, is senior director of education measurement and assessment at the American Institutes for Research, where she is responsible for pursuing new research opportunities, developing partnerships, and providing intellectual leadership on assessment-related topics. Hamilton’s own research has focused on producing evidence-based guidance to inform K-12 education policy and practice, particularly in the areas of social, emotional, and civic learning. A behavioral scientist, Hamilton previously directed the RAND Center for Social and Emotional Learning Research.

Debi Ghate

President of Steadfast, Vice President of Partnerships at Gen Justice, and Executive Fellow at the State Policy Network

Debi Ghate, is president of Steadfast as well as vice president of partnerships at The Center for the Rights of Abused Children, executive fellow with the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, executive fellow at the State Policy Network and initiative director for the George Mason University’s “Voices for Liberty: Free Speech, Civil Rights and Social Progress” program. Debi is a trained lawyer, previously practicing civil litigation in Ontario, Canada before moving to California to join the Ayn Rand Institute. At the Institute, she oversaw the education and policy programs before serving on leadership teams at two Foundations, including the Charles Koch Foundation and the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship. She was previously the senior director of grant strategy at The Snider Foundation and most recently the vice president of strategy and programs for Philanthropy Roundtable. Debi serves on the boards of Americans for Fair Treatment, Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship, Empire Center for Public Policy, FAMM, and the Government Justice Center. She received a bachelor of science in Psychology, Biology and French at the University of Toronto and a bachelor of laws at the University of Calgary.

Sanda Balaban

Co-Founder/Director at YVote/Next Generation Politics

Sanda Balaban, is passionate about helping young people understand their individual and collective power, at and beyond the ballot box. In response to the complex times we’re living in, the vulnerability of democracy being demonstrated, and the desire to support young people in being on the front lines of change, she co-founded and directs cross-partisan youth civic engagement venture YVote/ Next Generation Politics, aiming to equip leaders of tomorrow for their roles and responsibilities as citizens shaping a more just world.

Sanda has held leadership roles in education and youth development for over 25 years, in the public sector at the New York City Department of Education, in education philanthropy at the Ford Foundation and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and in nonprofits including Facing History and Ourselves, the Boston Private Industry Council, and The Teachers Network.

Sanda is proud to serve on the founding Board of Directors of Generation Vote and The Hope Reichbach Memorial Fund and on the National Reader Advisory Board for Chalkbeat. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Graduate School of Education.