Jill Conrad

Jill Conrad joined BPE in February 2010 to oversee the organization’s communications, policy, and research efforts. Her leadership will strengthen BPE’s partnerships and external relations, with the goal of creating a strategic agenda that advances school reform in the City of Boston and increases academic outcomes for students. Ms. Conrad served a four-year term (2005-2009) as the at-large school board member for the Denver Public Schools, overseeing the district reform efforts alongside Superintendents Michael Bennet and Tom Boasberg. She continues to help urban school boards formulate and oversee a reform agenda as a Governance Solutions Trainer for the Center for Reform of School Systems (CRSS). She also served as Senior Consultant for Policy & Planning for McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning), responsible for government relations, policy, and supporting its Future of Education initiative.   

From 2004-2007, Ms. Conrad was the Director of the Colorado Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, part of a national campaign to increase students’ civic learning opportunities in schools. From 2000-2004, she was an independent education consultant providing leadership, policy analysis, advocacy, consulting, evaluation, fundraising, research, and other services to national, state, and local clients on topics ranging from accountability, civic education, governance, P-20 systems, school improvement, school finance, school leadership, service-learning, and teacher effectiveness. She worked for RMC Research Corporation as a Research Associate from 1997-2000. Ms. Conrad holds a BA in Communications & International Affairs from the University of New Hampshire, an MA in Education Policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is a PhD Candidate in Educational Leadership & Innovation at the University of Colorado at Denver.