Bryan C. Hassel, Ph.D., is co-director of Public Impact. He consults nationally with leading public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and foundations working for dramatic improvements in K–12 education. He is a recognized expert on teacher and leader policy, charter schools, and school turnarounds. He co-leads the Opportunity Culture initiative, designed to help schools extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students while creating sustainable, paid career opportunities for teachers. Dr. Hassel’s work has appeared in Education Next, Education Week, and numerous other publications; he blogs for Education Next and is a frequent guest blogger on other forums, such as Education Week. He received his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University and his master’s degree in politics from Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned his B.A. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which he attended as a Morehead Scholar.

Brian Richardson is Principal at UPD Consulting. Mr. Richardson brings 13 years of public and private sector management experience to the team. Bryan leads UPD's performance management and complex data system engagements with school districts and state education offices. Mr. Richardson has been recognized nationally for the development and implementation of the SchoolStat performance management process. His project engagements have included leading the development of performance management routines with school districts in Baltimore, Memphis, Paterson, NJ, and the District of Columbia and state education agencies in New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, the and the District of Columbia. Bryan currently serves as an adviser to the US Department of Education and leads a group of eight states in the development of performance management routines for low performing schools. Mr. Richardson has also served as an adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on personalizing teacher training, performance management, and education technology.

Jamila Smith is a Content Lead for Technical Assistance for the Race to the Top States in the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, Jamila manages technical assistance for Race to the Top State grantees through the Department’s Reform Support Network (RSN) and leads the SEA Capacity Building Work Stream. This group serves to strengthen the organizational capacity of the SEAs by supporting their ability to implement and sustain their proposed Race to the Top reforms over time. Prior to joining the Department, Jamila was a Management Analyst for the Office of Naval Intelligence where she conducted a series of human capital studies such as strategic recruitment, skills gap analyses, and succession planning focusing primarily on mission readiness. Jamila also has worked for the U.S. Department of Education’s Risk Management Service, as well as the Title I and Title III program offices, supporting States in assessing their risk to program performance. Jamila’s commitment to education reform was solidified early in her career in her work as a social work advocate for homeless children, where she worked as a case manager for the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and The Salvation Army’s Turning Point Program for Women and Children as an advocate for coordinated and timely assessment services for elementary aged children. Jamila holds a Bachelor’s degree in American Government from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Catholic University of America.

Danielle Smith is a Content Lead for Technical Assistance for Race to the Top States in the U.S. Department of Education’s Implementation and Support Unit. In this role, Danielle manages technical assistance for Race to the Top State grantees through the Department’s Reform Support Network (RSN) and leads the School Turnaround, Stakeholder Communications and Engagement, and Teacher and Leader Effectiveness/Standards and Assessments communities of practice. Additionally, Danielle leads technical assistance evaluation and manages strategic communications projects including the Department’s recently launched PROGRESS website. Prior to joining the Department, Danielle was a Program Manager at Mass Insight Education where she provided support to States and school districts to launch initiatives to turn around their lowest-performing schools focusing on building capacity for strategic planning, developing performance management systems, implementing lead partner market strategies and communications. Previously, Danielle worked at Georgetown University to connect higher education institutions with local communities and increase college access opportunities for all students. Danielle served as the university liaison to the local K-12 school system and community partners as the Director of the Ward 7 Initiative, a strategic community engagement initiative to match university resources to community and school needs and was a leader in the citywide Double the Numbers initiative to dramatically increase high school graduation and college going rates across the District of Columbia. Danielle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy.