Julia Rafal-Baer

As Chief Operating Officer of Chiefs for Change, Julia Rafal-Baer develops our organizational capacity for sustained growth and strengthens our goal-setting and decision-making processes. Prior to joining the team, she was assistant commissioner of the New York State Education Department, where she was responsible for the strategy, management, and implementation of teacher and leader initiatives under the state’s Race to the Top grant, Teacher Incentive Fund grant, and other statewide initiatives, managing more than $150 million in federal funds. Julia directed, coordinated, and recommended policies and programs designed to raise student achievement and improve the quality and diversity of the education workforce. She previously served as manager at New Profit, Inc., where she helped lead the design and implementation of the organization’s city-level initiatives. Julia began her career as a special education teacher in the Bronx. She holds a Ph.D. in comparative education policy and a master’s in philosophy in education research from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar; a dual master’s from CUNY: Lehman College in Special Education and Childhood Education; and a bachelor’s in psychology from The George Washington University. In 2020, Julia was appointed to a four-year term by the National Assessment Governing Board.