2024-2025 List of Officers

Laurie Goodman, PhD – Co-Chair 2024-2025
Email: dr.laurie.goodman@gmail.com 

Dr. Laurie Goodman has been an educator for over thirty years both at the K-12 public education level, and at the university level. She recently retired from public education as Superintendent currently for Yosemite Valley Charter and Monarch River Academy in the central valley in California near Fresno. Prior to this, Dr. Goodman served as a superintendent for the Winship-Robbins Elementary School District in Northern California near Yuba City. She served as a principal at the middle school and elementary level in the Central Valley. Currently, she is adjunct faculty for UMASS Global, formally known as Brandman University. Dr. Goodman is serving as a Lead Mentor for Ventura County Office of Education in their administrative induction program.In this role, she works with charter leaders throughout the state of California. At the community level, Laurie is an officer in her local ADK chapter, serves as a WASC chair, and volunteers when needed.Her doctorate in educational leadership is from CSU, Fresno, and UC, Davis. Past honors include: 2017 Congressional Woman of the Year, Kingsburg School District Administrator of the Year, Kings County Teacher of the Year, American Literacy, Finalist Administrator of the Year, FCOE, and Random Acts of Kindness Award.

Ida Oberman, PhD – Co-Chair 2024-2025
Email: dridaoberman@gmail.com

Dr. Ida Oberman is Senior Research Fellow at Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Alfter, Germany, and founder and executive director emerita of Community School for Creative Education, the country’s first Intercultural urban public Waldorf School, a full-service K-8 community school in Oakland, CA. Dutch born and German educated with Abitur from Waldorf School Tūbingen, she holds a BA from Swarthmore and PhD from Stanford. She is founder and past director of the Waldorf Education Professional Development Certificate Program at Mills College School of Education 2015-2022 and a former Education Program Officer at the Hewlett Foundation. Ida is co-founder of the Philanthropy and Education SIG in 2001. For full selection of publications click here. 

Heather McCambly, PhD – Co-Program Chair 2024-2025
Email: mccambly@pitt.edu
Twitter: @hmccambly

Dr. Heather McCambly is assistant professor of critical higher education policy at the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary scholar who studies the role of organizations, including grantmakers, in (re)producing systemic, racial inequalities. She does this work with a commitment to producing knowledge that can help us, collectively, build alternative pathways toward just futures of Black, brown, indigenous, and low-income students and institutions over time. Constructs central to her work include racialized organizations, institutional persistence and change, racial frames, political development and racial backlash, and organizational sensemaking.

Nora Reikosky, PhD – Co-Program Chair 2024-2025
Email: reikosky@upenn.edu

 Dr. Nora Reikosky (she/her) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethics and Leadership in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center for Ethics and Leadership in the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. Nora received a joint PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Education (Education, Culture, and Society) and in political science. Her research critically explores the impact and political stakes of private philanthropic actors involved with the democratic institution of public education, particularly where these actors intersect with and influence workforce and career readiness efforts—such as computer science for all. Prior to pursuing a PhD, Nora worked at Google in their legal department and at a national charter management organization implementing technology in the classroom.

Stephanie Sowl, PhD – Secretary/Treasurer 2024-2025
Email: ssowl@ecmc.org
Twitter: @StephanieSowl

Dr. Stephanie Sowl is a program officer at ECMC Foundation, a national postsecondary funder based in Los Angeles, CA. She leads the foundation’s Rural Impact Initiative, which supports rural learners, postsecondary institutions, and communities. Stephanie joined the philanthropic world two years ago with a focus on radicalizing the Foundation’s approach to grantmaking, prioritizing student voice, and institutional transparency and accountability. During her time at ECMC Foundation, Stephanie continues to leverage her passion for research and experience as a practitioner to interrogate the ways in which philanthropy has historically and contemporarily reproduced systems of inequality as it relates to grantmaking within the postsecondary system. Stephanie has a PhD in Higher Education from Iowa State University and conducts research on the spatial inequality of rural college access and success, how college-going cultures are created in rural communities, and the residential mobility patterns of adults post-college graduation. She has published in journals such as Journal of Higher Education, Innovative Higher Education, and Rural Sociology and previously served as AERA Division J’s graduate student representative from 2019-2021. Prior to her doctoral work, Stephanie was a research analyst in Mary Lou Fulton Teacher’s College and an academic advisor and coordinator in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University.

Chase McNamee, EdD – Webmaster 2024-2025
Email: chase.mcnamee@gmail.com
Twitter: @ChaseDMcNamee
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasemcnamee/

Dr. Chase McNamee (he/him) is a scholar-practitioner in institutional advancement and higher education. He has served in a variety of roles as a practitioner and leader in higher education and institutional advancement, including in alumni relations, donor relations & stewardship, fundraising, development strategy, and gift processing and management. He is a co-founder of Advancing Belonging Consultants (ABC). Our ABC team uses evidence-informed practice and research to partner with advancement professionals to achieve enhanced belonging, justice, and liberation within their organizations for their constituents, stakeholders, and teams. Dr. McNamee graduated with his doctorate in Higher & Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. He serves as a research fellow for The Tzedakah Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University and Associate Editor of Philanthropy & Education. His research focuses on evidence-informed practice and policy and identity-based philanthropy in institutional advancement and higher education. In addition, he currently works full-time as Director of Campaign Operations in Advancement at the University of Denver.

Crystal Martinez – Graduate Student Representative 2024-2025
Email: crystal07martinez@gmail.com

Ms. Crystal Martinez is a second-year master's student in the educational leadership and policy program at the University of Utah. Her career choices have been driven by a strong belief in the power of higher education. Currently serving as the Associate Director for a college and career readiness program at Success in Education, Crystal passionately empowers students to navigate higher education and career pathways. A substantial part of Crystal's role involves skillfully navigating donor fulfillment while ensuring the prosperity of programs. Her experience in collaborating with donors not only sustains essential initiatives but also fuels her continuous quest to explore the impact that philanthropy has within education. Always mindful of aligning donor contributions with the organization's mission and goals, Crystal strives to create meaningful partnerships that amplify the impact of educational initiatives. She continues to assess and reflect on philanthropy's role within the educational system, contributing significantly to her organization and positively impacting students' lives.