A native of the North Star State, Christy earned her bachelor’s degree in child psychology and her master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota (go Gophers!). Christy headed straight into the classroom after graduation, teaching middle school math in White Bear Lake, Minnesota for five years. During that time, she designed and implemented her school’s math curriculum for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, and built a thriving musical theater program.
Christy moved east when her husband received a dream job offer in Washington, D.C. There Christy earned her J.D. from George Mason University School of Law, where she served as an associate editor of the George Mason University Civil Rights Law Journal and as a law clerk at an education law firm. At the firm, Christy worked with the attorneys to advise children and their families about their rights under state and federal special education laws.
Most recently, Christy served as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice, managing education outreach programs and practicing education law. Christy ultimately found her way to 50CAN via an Education Pioneers fellowship and is thrilled to be in a place where she can put her education and legal experience to work advocating for better schools for all kids.
I aspire to be like Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin. Here’s why:
KIPP Co-Founders Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin recognized that every child has the capacity to excel, and turned that belief into action: they built a nationwide network of high-achieving charter schools to help prepare children with the greatest needs for college and beyond.
The KIPP approach to education exemplifies the very brand of creative thinking that is needed to ensure that all kids reach their full potential. There is no magic, one-size-fits-all solution for the challenges that face our public schools. Instead—as Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin illustrate—the route to great schools for all requires a combination of hard work, know-how, creativity and some of KIPP’s own core values: optimism, grit and hope.
I am surrounded by passionate, intelligent, creative people working toward a solution for one of the most important issues of our time.
I received a fantastic public education from middle school through college, and I know the difference that great schools can make in a kid’s life. I was lucky to learn every day from amazing teachers who believed in me—and I ultimately entered the real world ready to succeed. Every child deserves the same opportunities and supportive and enriching experiences that I had access to in my public schools.
Organized sports. I can tap dance up a storm, and I sometimes even fancy myself a jogger. But ask me to throw, catch or kick a ball? Forget it. Your team will thank you when you don’t ask again!
Staring out across something as vast and wide as the ocean, it’s easy to dream about limitless possibilities and opportunities. But too many kids begin their public education thinking their potential has a limit. Unfortunately, some of those children may never have the support or experiences they need to change that perception and reach their goals. Yet every kid deserves to look forward to a future of accomplishments that is truly unlimited, and to believe they are in control of their own destiny.