About

We know that school funding policies are often arbitrary and don’t align with what students need to succeed. Policymakers and advocates are left to make critical decisions about their school finance formulas without the benefit of relevant or translatable research.

In some cases, the research is simply not aligned to policymakers’ questions. Where it exists, research is rarely accessible and actionable. Researchers, advocates, and policymakers rarely connect.

EdFund is addressing this critical gap in four ways: We curate existing research and identify policy-relevant questions; commission research to address gaps; communicate digestible, actionable insights; and connect a diverse group of researchers, policymakers, and advocates.

Our Team

EdFund’s work is generally shared between two divisions: research and policy. Our research division is focused on working with advocates and policymakers to develop an in-demand research agenda and oversees our direct financial investment in diverse, actionable research projects. Our policy and communications division is responsible for ensuring that research related to school funding is translated for the press, advocates, and decision makers in a digestible and engaging manner.

Rebecca Sibilia

Marvelous Mayor

Rebecca Sibilia is the Executive Director of EdFund. Prior to starting the organization, Rebecca served as a Senior Program Officer for Policy and Finance at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rebecca also launched and led EdBuild, a five-year project focused on raising national awareness related to the inequitable

Galactic Gatekeeper

Sharon Agnello serves as Director of Operations for EdFund, managing day-to-day operations, partnership development, copyediting and product development, and events planning. Sharon's background is in the entertainment industry, where she currently and prior provided operational and management

Support Sage

Heather Gomez is the Special Assistant at EdFund. She oversees project management, grant management, and event planning while providing vital support to the organization’s leadership. Prior to her current position, Heather worked as the Executive Assistant at EdFund. Her professional experience includes roles at

Evil Emperor

Matt Richmond is an Advisor to EdFund. Matt is an education finance and policy consultant who works with nonprofits, foundations, and state governments around the country on issues of K–12 and higher-education finance. He was previously the chief program officer of EdBuild and a Fulbright fellow. Matt has a Masters in

Mindful Maven

Kimberly Sterin, PhD, is the Director of Policy at EdFund. Before joining EdFund, Kim’s career included roles in academic research, education policy and advocacy, and K-12 classroom teaching. At Drexel University’s School of Education, Kim completed a post-doctoral fellowship funded by the National Science Foundation and directed

Community Chronicler

Shrien Alshabasy is the Director of Outreach and Engagement at EdFund. She was the first communications specialist at Teachers College Record, where she translated education research for wider audiences. Shrien is passionate about leveraging research to create real change in the educational

Narrative Nova

Danielle McClendon is a master’s student in Higher Education at Montclair State University and works as a Communications Intern at EdFund. She helps with research, data analysis, and communications related to K–12 education policy. Danielle has experience in policy research, compliance, data visualization, and program