MENLO PARK, Calif. — Charmaine Mercer has joined the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation as a program officer in the Education Program. Kent McGuire, director of the Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program, said the following about the appointment:
I am delighted to announce that Charmaine Mercer is joining us as a program officer in the Education Program. Charmaine has a critical understanding of deeper learning and its intersections with policy, practice, research and communications.
Charmaine joins us from the Learning Policy Institute, where she has been involved in efforts to study and advance policies known to improve learning outcomes for students furthest from opportunity. She was director of LPI’s Washington, D.C., office and a senior researcher, leading a team of researchers, policy influencers and communications staff. Before that, she was vice president of policy and advocacy at the Alliance for Excellent Education, developing and guiding the organization’s policy and research agenda.
Her prior experience includes directing policy and research at Communities for Teaching Excellence in Los Angeles, and significant federal government experience, including with the U.S. Department of Education’s office of planning, evaluation and policy development, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor and the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health, human services and education. She started her career as an analyst on education issues at the Congressional Research Service.
A California native, Charmaine earned her bachelor’s degree at San Diego State University, and her master’s degree and Ph.D. at Claremont Graduate University.
I am excited for Charmaine to bring her knowledge, experience and commitment to education to help our grantees and the students they serve succeed in the years ahead.