Learning First Alliance Staff & Leadership

Richard M. Long, Executive Director

longr@learningfirst.org
703-738-9081

Richard M. Long became Executive Director of the Learning First Alliance in February 2016.

Dr. Long is a nationally known advocate, writer and commentator on pre-K-12 issues and federal policy. Prior to joining LFA, he spent the past four decades working in education policy, including 37 years as the Government Relations Director for the International Reading Association. He also concurrently served as Executive Director/Government Relations Director for the National Title I Association from 1995 to 2014. He earned bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees from George Washington University.

Julianne Nava, Association Support Specialist

navaj@learningfirst.org

Julianne Nava joined Learning First Alliance in September of 2018.

Julianne has been working in the fields of youth development, international education, and ESL for the past six years. After graduating from The College of William and Mary with a BA in Cultural Anthropology (specializing in Latin American populations), she joined the United States Peace Corps as a Youth Development Specialist in Azerbaijan. She continued her work in education by teaching English abroad in Medellin, Colombia and working as an 8th grade English teacher in Houston, Texas.

She is currently completing her M.Ed. in English as a Second Language in George Mason’s TCLDEL (Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional Learners) program. When she isn’t in pursuit of knowledge in the field of education, she can be found Latin dancing and feeding her infatuation with chai tea at a local coffeeshop.

Joetta Sack-Min, Communications Director

sackminj@learningfirst.org

Joetta Sack-Min has spent more than 20 years working in K-12 education policy and communications, and she has seen the formation of policy up close as well as its impact on local schools. Most recently, she spent nearly eight years producing publications for school boards and guiding internal and external communications at the National School Boards Association. Prior to that, she was an award-winning journalist at Education Week, the nation’s K-12 newspaper of record, for nine years.

A graduate of the University of Maryland’s School of Journalism, Sack-Min began her career as a White House news aide for the Associated Press, and she also has worked with several other news services and associations. As a reporter, she has interviewed presidents, cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, and high-ranking Washington insiders. But her favorite experiences were visiting schools and meeting with teachers and school officials across the country. Outside of work, she can usually be found volunteering at her children’s elementary school in Falls Church, VA.

 

Board of Directors

The Learning First Alliance Board is composed of chief executive officers and other senior staff of each Alliance member organization. The Board meets at least six times each year to determine Alliance policy and practice. Board members include:

2020-21 Board Chair:
Marla Ucelli-Kashyap
American Federation of Teachers

2020-21 Secretary-Treasurer:
Keith R. Krueger
CoSN

Immediate Past President:
Nathan Monell
National PTA