Dana Schmidt

Dana Schmidt is a program officer in the Global Development and Population Program. She helped to develop the Foundation’s work to improve the quality of education that children receive in the developing world when she first joined the Foundation in 2006. She currently leads the Foundation’s work in this area in India.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Dana spent time teaching secondary school students in both Kenya and Zambia. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with an undergraduate degree in Economics and African Studies and earned her master's degree in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from the Stanford University School of Education. Her master’s thesis explores the impact of the elimination of primary school fees on enrollment in Kenya. Dana speaks Swahili and French and enjoys taking photos of her work, which you can find on flickr.