Georgia Partnership Announces Fourteenth Education Policy Fellowship Class

For immediate release
August 4, 2021
Contact: Robert W. Gaines, II, Ph.D.
Phone: 404-223-2464
Email: rgaines@gpee.org

ATLANTA — The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education has announced the names of its fourteenth Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) class members. The 14 selectees will spend nine months deepening their understanding of the policy process within the multifaceted context of education. (Full Class List)

EPFP is a 16-state national program that provides leaders with the knowledge and networks to advance the core issues of education policy. Participating fellows increase their expertise needed to engage in the process of making tough policy decisions. The organizations and businesses they represent benefit from their enhanced expertise.

Georgia Partnership president, Dr. Dana Rickman, noted that since its establishment, Georgia EPFP has been an invaluable asset to the state, with each new class adding to the number of leaders in Georgia who can enhance the state’s capacity to make sound, education policy decisions. The ultimate goal of EPFP, she explained, is to “support the development of effective leaders across diverse sectors to ensure all students in Georgia have access to a high-quality education and are prepared to succeed.”

“We’ve supported over two hundred fellows through this program over the last thirteen years, and many of them have become influential leaders in Georgia’s education landscape and beyond. Given the challenges that lay ahead of our public schools in the midst of lingering pandemic and the increasing need for strong leaders supporting education, I’m even more convinced that EPFP is one of the most powerful leadership development experiences available in the state,” she added. “The quality of instruction and networking provides an unmatched opportunity to build professional educational policy expertise that will long-serve Georgia.”

EPFP Program Coordinator and Georgia Partnership Director of External Affairs, Dr. Robert Gaines, echoed Dr. Rickman’s thoughts. “EPFP has played a critical role for years in advancing Georgia’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as a national leader in education, and it is our aim to ensure that it continues to do so. Every year, the Partnership is commits to preparing EPFP Fellows who can not only advocate for good policies, but who can also be agile and innovative in their approach to addressing both immediate and longterm needs in education.” In the end, Dr. Gaines stressed, “what drives us to facilitate the program is ensuring the development of sound education policies that support our students’ success in both today’s classroom and tomorrow’s workforce.”

Participants will attend monthly colloquiums that will be led by education, health, and policy experts. These sessions will cover a variety of subjects such as “Political and Demographic Landscape of Georgia: Strategic Leadership in a Dynamic Policy Environment,” and “Why Public Education: How Does the U.S. Educational System Compare to that of Other Countries?”.

Founded in 1992 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education consists of business, education, community and government leaders who share a vision of education excellence. Working to be Georgia’s foremost change agent in education, the independent non-profit, non-partisan organization takes lead roles in efforts to shape policy and reform education.