Quincy, MA – The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the largest philanthropy in New England devoted exclusively to education, has hired Jessica Spohn as a Senior Program Officer.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jessica aboard. We look forward to benefiting from her experience and passion for education as we begin a new chapter in our work to help transform public education into a system that ensures the large majority of citizens are prepared for a changing world,” said Nicholas C. Donohue, President and CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

Ms. Spohn has more than 20 years experience as an educator, working in elementary, secondary, and adult basic education. For six years she was Director of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) to College Transition Project at World Education where she managed the New England regional project, which helps adult learners gain access to, and persist in college. While at World Education, Ms. Spohn also oversaw the development of the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Curriculum Frameworks. She has held the position of Coordinator of Accountability for the Charter School Office at the Massachusetts Department of Education, where she was responsible for all aspects of accountability for the state’s 62 charter schools.

Ms. Spohn has also served as the educational counselor at Suffolk County House of Corrections where she was involved in the development and implementation of Demanding Inmate Accountability (DIA). The project, funded by the United States Department of Education, provides inmates with strong educational and employment resources at the end of their sentence in order to promote successful reintegration.

Ms. Spohn holds a B.A. from Hampshire College and a M.Ed. from Hunter College.
 

About The Nellie Mae Education Foundation

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality and effectiveness of education. Established in 1998, the Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs in the region designed to improve underserved students' academic achievement and access to higher education. The Foundation also funds research that examines critical educational opportunity issues. Since it was established, the Foundation has distributed nearly $72 million in grants. Currently, it is realigning its program investments. The Foundation will focus its grantmaking on strategies that support underserved learners while building knowledge about how to dramatically improve outcomes for the majority of New England's learners.

While the funding focus transitions from much of our current program work, the Foundation will build on what has been learned through successes in order to define the future. Among the new areas being explored are early learning, the pathways and use of time involved in the journey from kindergarten to college, and postsecondary opportunities for adults. For more information on the Foundation’s current work, visit www.nmefdn.org.

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