A little about Briana Brady

Briana is part of the policy, advocacy, and research team at Ed Trust–NY, focusing on policy research, briefings, and recommendations. Briana works closely with the deputy director to draft policy memos and reports that contribute to shaping and informing policies across the state. Briana is especially passionate about early literacy policy and outcomes and the ways in which they impact educational equity in New York and beyond.

Prior to joining Ed Trust–NY, Briana served as a program coordinator with Reading Partners, working at a New York City Department of Education School school in East Harlem. In this role, Briana worked with over 100 students and their families to coordinate in-school one-on-one literacy support, manage student data, and conduct individual progress monitoring to ensure students met their literacy growth goals. Briana also recently completed a master’s degree in the sociology of education program at Teachers College, Columbia University with a concentration in education policy.

A Chattanooga, Tennessee native, Briana also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and she published an undergraduate thesis through the Honors College on the relationship between school discipline outcomes and school service offerings.

What drew you to education? Throughout high school and college, I had the opportunity to partner with elementary and middle school students in underserved areas of Chattanooga and witness their adolescence over the course of eight years. While the day-to-day involved working alongside the students in an after-school setting on homework, the relationships became about so much more than that! The depth of these formed and cherished relationships offered raw insight into the educational inequities so prevalent in my community (and beyond) and motivated me to be an advocate for students wherever I live.

Why are you passionate about working at Ed Trust–NY? I am committed to doing all I can to ensure that students from all backgrounds, races, and socioeconomic statuses have the opportunity to allow their educations to lead them wherever they desire to go. From the moment I began focusing on the area of equity in education as my own career path, The Education Trust has been a distinguished leader in this work, and I am deeply grateful to be a part of such a dedicated, impactful organization.