WASHINGTON — February 24, 2021 — The NEA Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of Elizabeth G. Schneider and LaTanya L. Dixon to its staff. Both Schneider, chief officer for strategic initiatives, and Dixon, senior program officer, will play critical roles in the Foundation’s work to promote greater equity, excellence, and opportunity in public education nationwide.
“We are thrilled to have Elizabeth and LaTanya join our staff, furthering the NEA Foundation’s commitment to bring the greatest expertise and dedication to educational equity to our work,” said Sara A. Sneed, president and CEO of the NEA Foundation. “As an accomplished national leader and champion for educational excellence, Elizabeth will further the Foundation’s strategic initiatives, elevating educators’ voices and developing robust learning communities, increasing educators’ partnership with policymakers, parents, education advocates, and other proponents of public education. With extensive experience advancing educational justice and equity programs in the South, LaTanya also is just the right person to oversee our new Southern Regional Alliance for Community Schools portfolio and related initiatives.”
In the newly created position of chief officer of strategic initiatives, Schneider will play a key role in the Foundation’s development of new partnerships, policy and strategic initiatives, and she will lead the Foundation’s grantmaking to advance the best in public education. Schneider brings fifteen years of experience focused on educational equity for secondary students at the Alliance for Excellent Education, serving most recently as chief of staff and senior vice president for strategic initiatives. Previously, she led the Southern Governors Association for ten years as executive director and worked in the U.S. Senate.
Dixon will primarily focus on the Foundation’s new community schools initiative, supporting educators and educational partnerships increasing educational equity and opportunity across the American South. Over the past 15 years, LaTanya has held teaching, community coalition, afterschool, volunteer management, and research roles in education. She comes to the Foundation from Vanderbilt University where she held an Institute of Education Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship appointment focused on research on school leadership and school improvement.
Read Schneider and Dixon’s full bios here.
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About the NEA Foundation
The NEA Foundation is a national nonprofit and philanthropic organization that works in partnership with others to promote the very best in public education. Learn more at neafoundation.org, Facebook and Twitter.
Note to Editor: Please refer to us as The NEA Foundation. We never spell out the NEA part of our name.
