Team
Patricia Levesque
Patricia is the Executive Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s deputy chief of staff for education, enterprise solutions for government, minority procurement, and business and professional regulation. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy. Contact Patricia at Patricia@ExcelinEd.org.
Fonda Anderson
Fonda is the Chief Development Officer, and oversees all development aspects of the Foundation. Most recently, she was the National Development Director for the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice, based in Washington, D.C. Previously she was the senior vice president of development and communications for the Governor's community service foundation, focused on education, while Governor Bush was in office. She brings more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience to the organization, 15 of that in nonprofit management. Contact Fonda at Fonda@ExcelinEd.org.
Mary Laura Bragg
Mary Laura serves as Director of State Policy Implementation for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. A former classroom teacher, Mary Laura directed Governor Jeb Bush’s statewide literacy initiative, Just Read, Florida! As director, she was responsible for crafting and implementing the policies that helped place a command focus on reading instruction in Florida. She has served on advisory groups on adolescent literacy for both the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Governors Association. She is also a member of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Advisory Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. Contact Mary Laura at MaryLaura@ExcelinEd.org.
Raquel Cisneros
Raquel is the Director of Donor Relations for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Prior to joining the Foundation she served as the Associate Director of the Romero Britto Foundation in Miami where she was responsible for the charitable contributions to hundreds of organizations. Previously, she served as the Communications Coordinator for the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment where she administered a multi-million dollar financial incentive and oversaw the design and execution of Florida’s film marketing campaigns. Contact Raquel at Raquel@ExcelinEd.org.
Minda Corso
Minda serves as the Social Media Manager for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She is responsible for bridging the gap in the ever-expanding world of social media, where a growing number of people are gathering their news. Prior to joining the Foundation, Minda served in a similarcapacity for a non-profit organization in Dallas, Texas. She spent three years in administration for a large charter school in the Dallas/Ft.Worth metropolitan area. She received her Bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Texas at Arlington in 2005. Contact Minda at Minda@ExcelinEd.org.
Jaryn Emhof
Jaryn is Director of State Initiatives and Communications for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As Director of State Initiatives, she leads the advocacy team, in coordination with the policy team, as they work with state policy organizations, business leaders, lawmakers and state policymakers to advance bold reforms to improve student achievement. As the Communications Director, she serves as spokeswoman for the foundation and facilitates media inquiries and interview requests. Jaryn joins the foundation from the Florida Senate where she served for 10 years, working as a legislative assistant and, most recently, Communications Director for Senate President Jeff Atwater. Contact Jaryn at Jaryn@ExcelinEd.org.
Christy Hovanetz, Ph.D
Christy is a Senior Policy Fellow for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Dr. Hovanetz served as the Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Florida Department of Education. She has worked in education policy for the state of Florida since 1999 serving as the Director of Evaluation and Reporting, Director of Reading First and a Policy Analyst for Governor Jeb Bush. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with a minor in mathematics and is a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota. She earned her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at The Florida State University. Contact Christy at Christyh@ExcelinEd.org.
Carrie Jenkins
Carrie Anne Jenkins manages the accounting and finance operations of the Foundation. She has over 10 years of related experience in both public accounting and private industry and is a Florida licensed Certified Public Accountant. Carrie earned two undergraduate degrees from The Florida State University, graduating magna cum laude in Accounting and summa cum laude in Finance. Contact Carrie at Carrie@ExcelinEd.org.
Matthew Ladner, Ph.D
Dr. Matthew Ladner is the Senior Advisor of Policy and Research for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served as Vice President of Research and Goldwater Institute. Prior to joining Goldwater, Ladner was director of state projects at the Alliance for School Choice. Ladner has written numerous studies on school choice, charter schools and special education reform and coauthored Report Card on American Education: Ranking State K-12 Performance, Progress and Reform for the American Legislative Exchange Council. Ladner has testified before Congress, the United States Commission of Civil Rights and numerous state legislative committees. Ladner is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received both a Masters and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Houston. Ladner is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for Educational Choice and the Goldwater Institute. Dr. Ladner lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Anne and children Benjamin, Jacob and Abigail and can be reached at Matthew@ExcelinEd.org.
Lowell Matthews, Jr.
Lowell serves as a Senior Policy Advisor forthe Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served as Staff Director for the Florida Legislature's Senate Committees on Education Pre-K-12 and Higher Education, which oversee all aspects of education in Florida. Lowell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University Law School. He also served in the U.S. Army. Contact Lowell at Lowell@ExcelinEd.org.
Cari Miller
Cari Miller serves as a Policy Advisor for theFoundation for Excellence in Education. A former elementary teacher and reading coach, Cari most recently served as the Deputy Director of Just Read, Florida!, Governor Jeb Bush's statewide literacy initiative. At Just Read, Florida!, she served in various capacities: Elementary Reading Specialist, Director of Reading First and Director of ElementaryReading. In all of her roles, her sole mission was to improve student reading achievement across the state. Contact Cari at Cari@ExcelinEd.org.
Erin Price
Erin Price is the Marketing Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Prior to joining the Foundation, Erin was the Deputy Finance Director for two political campaigns for the Westchester County Executive and NY State Comptroller where she helped raise a total of over $10 million. Erin's career started at Teach for America where she was a Recruitment Fellow in their national headquarters in NYC. She then joined the development staff of The New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall as the Hall's Special Event Manager. Erin was also an Education Pioneers Fellow for The Fund for Public Schools at the NYC Department of Education. She received her Master's in Public Administration from the Robert F. Wager School of Public Service at NYU. Contact Erin at Erin@ExcelinEd.org.
Lisa Kammel Raguso
Lisa is the Arts for Life! Scholarship Program Director. Lisa previously served as the Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, a statewide arts education alliance. She has also worked with former First Lady, Columba Bush, in carrying out her arts initiative. Lisa has also worked for the Florida Department of Education, Nova Southeastern University in Miami and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Contact Lisa at Lisa@ExcelinEd.org.
Kate Wallace
Kate serves as State Advocacy Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Prior to joining the Foundation, Kate served as Legislative Coordinator for The Fiorentino Group, a Florida government affairs firm based in Jacksonville. Previously, Kate served as government affairs assistant for the Washington office of Triadvocates, an Arizona government relations firm, and as staff assistant for the Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., federal government relations office. As a college student, Kate interned for the White House in Vice President Dick Cheney’s Office of Domestic Policy and for former Florida Congressman Adam Putnam’s Capitol Hill office. A central Florida native, Kate graduated from University of Florida in 2007 with a B.S. in Public Relations. Contact Kate at Kate@ExcelinEd.org .