Julia Rafal-Baer, Ph.D., is managing partner of ILO Group. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Rafal-Baer played an instrumental role advising school district and state education agency leaders across the U.S. and led a nationwide effort to safely reopen schools, accelerate learning, and strengthen critical supports for students. She serves as an expert advisor to the COVID Collaborative.
Prior to founding ILO Group, Dr. Rafal-Baer served as the chief operating officer at Chiefs for Change, a nationwide network of district and state education leaders, where she helped transform the organization from a small start-up to an $11M high-impact national nonprofit. She coached and mentored more than 50 leaders through the Future Chiefs program at Chiefs for Change, half of whom went on to become superintendents and commissioners. Dr. Rafal-Baer previously served as assistant commissioner of the New York State Education Department. In 2020, she was appointed by the U.S. secretary of education to a four-year term to the National Assessment Governing Board.
M.S., Special Education, Childhood Education, CUNY: Lehman College
B.A., Psychology, The George Washington University, summa cum laude