Policymakers/Practitioners – Community Group

Krystafer Redden currently serves as the Associate Chief of Staff for System Transformation at the Rhode Island Department of Education. Previously, he served the students of Rhode Island as a classroom teacher, teacher leader, and district administrator in Providence Public Schools, as well as an education policy fellow to Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. Prior to moving to Rhode Island, Krystafer worked in the Texas Legislature and served a gubernatorial appointment at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A fifth-generation Texan from a family of public educators, and raised by his single mother and sister, he currently lives in Providence, RI and enjoys all the history, shoreline, and proximity that New England has to offer.

Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw (she/her) is the founding Executive Director for Research and Strategic Data Use at the Maryland State Department of Education. The office leads the Department’s empirical research, data analysis, program evaluation, and evidence-based decision-making work and promotes a data-driven culture throughout the agency and the state. Previously, she was the National Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank, and worked as a high school mathematics teacher and summer-school coordinator in Washington D.C. public schools. She is also a former AEFP board member. She earned a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California and she holds a M.S. in astrophysics from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in astronomy from Cornell University. Dara grew up in Los Angeles and currently lives in Baltimore.

She has nearly 20 years of experience in integrating research and practice to improve public policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oberlin College; a master’s degree in policy analysis and labor policy from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota; and a master’s degree in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.

Shanna Ricketts is Director of Enterprise Analytics within the Data Governance group at Gwinnett County Public Schools. Shanna leads a team of developers, business analysts, and data scientists to provide data-driven dashboards and reports for both school-based and district-based users. Shanna previously held the position of Director of Data Analytics within the Research & Evaluation group, where she provided research and analytical support to leaders in the district. Prior to joining Gwinnett County Public Schools, Shanna was a Strategic Data Project Fellow with the Delaware Department of Education working on educator effectiveness initiatives. She also spent a year with Atlanta Public Schools in their assessment group. Shanna holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University, an MBA from INSEAD, and a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Emory University.