Registration

Event Description

SCG’s Education Funders Group invites you to join us for a conversation with Shital Shah, Senior Advisor of Strategic Partnerships, Department of Education (DOE). Shital leads partnership management, including relationships with the private sector and philanthropic organizations, ensuring alignment with the Secretary’s following priorities:

  • Support the Health and Safety of Students, School Personnel, and Families

  • Build School Communities, and Support Students’ Social, Emotional, and Mental Health

  • Accelerate Academic Achievement

  • Support Educator and Staff Stability and Well-Being

She will also provide an update on federal priorities and plans for student loan forgiveness. Her comments will also focus on how the DOE is partnering with foundations nationwide as well as with statewide and local funders. 

We will then hear from two local funders who will provide insights on what is being done to support national priorities.

  • Valerie Cuevas, Director, Education, California Community Foundation

  • Vereaux Reynolds, Senior Director, Operations & Strategy, GPSN

  • Shital Shah, Senior Advisor of Strategic Partnerships, Department of Education

Please note that the time will be shortened from 10:00 to 11:00 am, so people have ample time to attend the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation event with Superintendent of Schools Dr. Debra Duardo.

2023 Quarterly Programming Dates:

About the Education Funders Group

The Education Funders Group brings philanthropic funders together quarterly to learn about issues, trends, and needs in the field of education to inform individual and collective grantmaking. Over the years, the group has explored a variety of topics, including early childhood education, after-school programming, parent engagement, blended learning, linked learning, STEM, implementation of the common core, and college access/college success.

Speakers

Valerie Cuevas

Valerie Cuevas SCG Member

Director of Education, California Community Foundation

The California Community Foundation (CCF) is a catalytic partner for grantmaking, advocacy, and community engagement across the Los Angeles region. Valerie Cuevas directs the Foundation’s education program and leads a dedicated grantmaking team developing, scaling, and removing barriers to evidence-based approaches that support the whole learner from birth to K-12 to post-secondary. With expertise in educational equity, state legislative policy and K-12 governance, she most recently led education grantmaking strategy at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) in northern California. She joined the philanthropic sector after a significant tenure with The Education Trust-West, where she focused on public policy advocacy and program work that improved educational outcomes for all students pre-kinder through college. Additionally, Cuevas was an education policymaker for six years as a two-term, publicly elected school board member for a midsize urban district.
Vereaux smiles in front of downtown Los Angeles backdrop

Vereaux Reynolds SCG Member

Senior Director, Operations & Strategy, GPSN

Vereaux Reynolds is an entrepreneur and education leader with nearly 15 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. As GPSN’s Senior Director, Operations & Strategy, Vereaux is responsible for managing operations, human resources, human capital, strategy and impact. Prior to joining GPSN, Vereaux spent several years leading Operations at Green Dot Public Schools California and managing commercial construction projects at Driver SPG and C.W. Driver. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from USC, an MBA from Emory University, and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from The Broad Center.
Shital Shah

Shital Shah

Senior Advisor of Strategic Partnerships, Department of Education

In her role at the Department, Shital leads partnership management, including private sector and philanthropic organizations, ensuring alignment with the Secretary’s priorities. Prior to joining the Administration, Shital was the Director of Philanthropic Engagement and Community Schools at the American Federation of Teachers. In this position, she cultivated and strengthened relationships with philanthropic and education industry partners to garner support for improving children’s well-being, creating powerful learning, building teacher capacity, and fostering school and community collaboration. She also served on the 2020 Biden-Harris Transition Team for the US Department of Education. She has spent over a decade working in the field of community schools’ policy and practice. There, she provided strategic support and guidance to state and local affiliates related to policy, advocacy, school, and district implementation of approaches to the community school strategy and extended learning time. Shital received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from George Washington University and M.S. in Public Policy from the New School.

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