Washington Policy Seminar - Institute for Educational Leadership

JOIN US FOR THE 61^ST WASHINGTON POLICY SEMINAR^TM!

Registration is now closed

About the Washington Policy Seminar^TM

We welcome you to the 61^st Washington Policy Seminar^TM (WPS) taking place March 17 to 19, 2025 at DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC – Crystal City. Started in 1964 by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), WPS is your front-row seat to inside the beltway federal policy and national trends.

Network, learn, and take action over a 3-day conference filled with skill-building sessions. Throughout WPS, you will have an opportunity to:

Advance understanding of the federal role in education;
Participate in a role-play exercise to gain an understanding of factors that can influence the legislative decision-making process and visit with lawmakers on Capitol Hill (optional, self-guided);
Build a toolbox of skills on how to take action on equitable education policy; and,
Network with colleagues from across the country.

Agenda

The Washington Policy Seminar^TM (WPS) takes place across three days. It opens at 1:00 pm ET on Monday and concludes at 11:a0 pm on Wednesday. Pre-conference skill-building clinics can be purchased separately from WPS during the registration process. Capitol Hill visits are optional and take place at the conclusion of the formal program.

WPS Speakers & Presenters

Bella DiMarco – FutureEd Policy Analyst

Joline Collins – IEL Northeast Regional Director

Chike Aguh – Harvard’s Project on Workforce Senior Advisor; Accenture Executive Advisor on Future of Work & Innovation

Taylor Moore – Partnership for Future of Learning Associate Director for Network Effectiveness

Michael J. Petrilli – Thomas B. Fordham President

Michelle Austin – GMMB Senior Vice President & Managing Director

Mark Quiner – National Conference of State Legislatures Director

Ellie Mitchell – MOST Network Executive Director

Michelle Dallafior – First Focus on Children Senior Vice President of Budget and Tax

Danica Petroshius – Penn Hill Group Managing Principal

Devon Brenner – President of the National Rural Education Association

Shital Shah – Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary & Director of Strategic Partnerships, Office of the Secretary, US Department of Education

Michael A. DiNapoli Jr. – Learning Policy Institute Director of Federal Policy

Eddie Koen – IEL President

Jasmine Bolton – Partnership for the Future of Learning Policy Director

Augustus Mays – EdTrust Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement

Zach Scott – School-Based Health Alliance Senior Director

Kathryn Gimborys – American Association of Community Colleges Government Relations Manager

Qubilah Huddleston – EdTrust Policy Lead, Equitable School Funding

Christian Collins – CLASP Policy Analyst

Wil Del Pilar – Ed Trust Senior Vice President

Dena Donaldson – AFT Assistant Director of Educational Issues

Rebeca Shackleford, M.Ed. – All4Ed Director of Federal Government Relations

Nicole Fuller – National Center for Learning Disabilities Policy Manager

Lily Klam – First Focus on Children Director of Education

Erik Peterson – Afterschool Alliance Senior Vice President of Policy

Ally Talcott – Allied for Progress Founding Partner

Francisco Pardo – National Association of College and University Attorneys Director of Legal Resources

Leonor Ehling – Center for California Studies Executive Director

Mark Lieberman – Education Week School Finance Reporter

Madelyn Lucas – Excelencia in Education Policy Analyst

Rachel Rush-Marlowe – ResearchED Founder & Executive Director

Nicholas Munyan-Penney – The Education Trust Assistant Director of P12 Policy

Claus von Zastrow – Education Commission of the States Senior Policy Director

Sabrina Sheikh – Youth Leadership Manager

Ryan Watkins – George Washington University Professor of Education Technology Leadership

Jennifer Ellis – All4Ed Director of State Government Relations

Kylie Wheeler – Children’s Funding Project Senior Manager of Products,

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WPS is designed for leaders at diverse stages in their career. Leaders from across sectors and organization supporting children, youth, and families, such as:

K-12 leaders e.g.,: district and school staff, principals, teachers
Higher Education leaders e.g.: faculty, staff, administrators, undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs
Community leaders e.g.: youth-serving professionals, afterschool and summer program providers, intermediary organization staff working with children, youth, and families, local/state/regional/national membership organizations staff, local/state/regional/national advocacy organization staff
Government & Philanthropic leaders e.g.: local/state/federal agency staff, community/regional/state/national/global foundation program officer and leaders
And anyone else interested in advancing their knowledge and skills about education policy!

Registration is now closed.

Hotel

DoubleTree by Hilton Washington DC – Crystal City is located next to Pentagon, overlooks the Washington monuments and the Tidal Basin, and is an 8 minute drive from the Capitol Hill. The hotel has complementary shuttle from the Reagan National Airport (DCA) and is accessible by metro on Crystal City and Pentagon City metro stations (blue/yellow lines).

*Lodging and travel costs are excluded from your conference registration.

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Cherry Blossoms

The hotel overlooks the Cherry Blossoms. Learn more about the annual Cherry Blossom events and watch the Blossom Cam.

Current EPFP affiliate sites in the 2024 – 2025 cohort year: California, Georgia Michigan, and Mississippi

“This was a life-changing experience for me. I appreciate the supportive network and the constant, abundant learning.”

“WPS was amazing. I learned so much from all the speakers… I loved learning about how policy works in DC at the macro level. The sessions inspired me to learn more about my representatives and how I can engage with them in a real way.”

“Thank you for all the IEL team did to put WPS on. It was a fantastic seminar, and I greatly enjoyed each session and all of the networking.”

“I plan to be much more engaged with my local, state, and federal representatives thanks to the skills I learned at WPS.” 

“I will no longer hesitate to reach out to my representatives and to other federal government officials. I feel inspired and encouraged to be a part of the solution instead of lamenting the problem.”

“I appreciated having the opportunity to talk with folks around the country about important and current issues in education.”

“I teach law students in an education policy practicum, so I’m walking away with lots of Ideas for our curriculum.”

“I plan to apply the knowledge gained to drafting a teacher recruitment and retention policy. ”

Interested in sponsoring a portion of the Washington Policy Seminar?

Learn more about sponsorship opportunities here, or contact Donnie Hale at haled@iel.org.

Become a WPS sponsor

JOIN US FOR THE 61ST WASHINGTON POLICY SEMINARTM!

Registration is now closed

About the Washington Policy SeminarTM