Prepared for an uncertain future: The legacy of responsible leadership
McREL is a non-profit organization dedicated to “making a difference in the quality of education and learning for all through excellence in applied research, product development, and service.” Our future as an organization is directly linked to the condition of America’s education system and our ability to respond to change. McREL’s leadership has committed to preparing McREL for the uncertainties of the future—and to helping other organizations do the same.
Using techniques codified by the Global Business Network, the McREL Policy and Planning Services Team provides a suite of services on The Future of Schooling, including workshops, keynote addresses, and consulting services to assist education leaders to not only anticipate the future but take action today to respond effectively to whatever lies ahead.
The Policy and Planning Services Team
Laura Lefkowits, M.A.
As Vice President for Policy and Planning Services at McREL, Ms. Lefkowits is the leader of McREL’s scenario-based planning services. Ms. Lefkowits has been certified as a scenario planner by the Global Business Network. She has presented to numerous national audiences about drivers of change that may impact the future, has worked with organizations to support their own scenario planning efforts, and has written scenarios. She also directs McREL’s internal annual program planning process including the collection and use of data for purposes of corporate strategy development. Ms. Lefkowits serves as a liaison between McREL and policymakers, associations, members of Congress and other legislators. A former school board member, she informs and advises policy makers as well as McREL board and staff members on important emerging issues in education reform.
Jill Conrad, M.A.
As Senior Consultant for Policy and Planning Services at McREL, Ms. Conrad supports McREL’s government relations, policy, and planning services. She monitors and analyzes state and federal educational policy and related trends for McREL and key clients and translates research into articles and presentations for various policy audiences. In addition, Ms. Conrad supports McREL’s scenario-based planning services and leads scenario planning projects. Ms. Conrad holds a Masters in Educational Policy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to joining McREL, Ms. Conrad worked as an independent educational consultant providing leadership, management, educational policy, advocacy, consulting, fundraising, research, and other services to clients such as the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Education Commission of the States, foundations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others at the national, state, and local level. She currently serves as an At-Large Member of the Board of Education for Denver Public Schools (DPS).
Carolyn Woempner, Ph.D.
As Senior Researcher in Policy and Planning Services, Dr. Woempner brings her research expertise to this work. She develops and maintains McREL’s data archive of trends impacting education and applies the information to support planning and policy decisions. She also authors monthly briefs on trends in education. In addition, Dr. Woempner supports our policy research work with design and analytic expertise. She holds a Master's degree in Genetics from Colorado State University. Shifting her research focus to the field of education, she has an earned doctorate in Education Leadership and Policy Studies with a research specialty in education policy. Additional work in education includes contributions to projects to improve the mathematics achievement of Native American students, evaluate effective reading instruction materials in at-risk schools, and examine effective instructional stategies for learning-disabled students. Prior to joining McREL, Dr. Woempner was Director of Operations at a Denver-area elementary school.
Renée Regnier
As Administrative Coordinator for McREL’s Policy and Planning Services, Renée brings to the team a strong and extensive background in administrative management. She has served in an administrative role for high-level managers and executives in industries such as radio, advertising and marketing, recording, mortgage and finance, telecom and now in education research and consulting. Her skills and expertise complement the policy and planning team with her knowledge of database and spreadsheet development/management, varied software applications, appointment scheduling, contract negotiations, meeting and travel logistics. She also brings to the team and to McREL, a broad range of organizational and operational knowledge from the corporate environment.
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