Speakers: Breakout Sessions #1

Facilitator: Mandana Mohsenzadegan

Scholars Strategy Network

Mohsenzadegan is Director of Member Engagement at the Scholars Strategy Network. She helps university-based scholars join SSN and provides public engagement support to our network of over 2,000 members.

Facilitator: Ethan Stein

Scholars Strategy Network

Stein is Director of Chapters at the Scholars Strategy Network, where he helps connect scholars with policymakers and community leaders. With experience in community organizing and education, he is dedicated to expanding opportunity through public engagement and learning.

Facilitator: Larry Walker

University of Central Florida

Walker is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Higher Education at the University of Central Florida. His research focuses on racism, leadership, and policy. Previously, he served as the Legislative Director for former Congressman Major R. Owens and a Congressional Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Jorge Ambriz

Office of Representative Adelita Grijalva (AZ-7)

Ambriz is a Legislative Assistant for Representative Adelita Grijalva. With over a decade of experience in public education and federal policymaking, he supports legislative development, policy analysis, and strategic initiatives across a broad policy portfolio.

Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

Holcomb-McCoy serves as president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the leading voice for educator preparation in the U.S. She assumed this role in January 2025, bringing decades of experience as a scholar, academic leader, and national advocate for strengthening the educator workforce.

Allison Rose Socol

EdTrust

Socol is EdTrust’s Vice President of P-12 Policy, Practice, and Research. She leads efforts to identify educational inequities, advance research-based solutions, and collaborate with advocates to expand excellence and opportunity for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds.

Samantha Wilkerson

Committee on Education & Workforce

Wilkerson is a staff member for the Democratic Office of the House Committee on Education & Workforce, where she advances policies rooted in education and opportunity for all students.

Facilitator: Paola Maynard-Moll

Scholars Strategy Network

Maynard-Moll is Executive Director of the Scholars Strategy Network, where she leads work to connect researchers with policymakers, civic organizations, and journalists. Since joining SSN in 2014, she has helped grow the network’s membership, chapters, and national infrastructure for public scholarship.

Andrea Benjamin

The University of Oklahoma

Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on race and politics, local elections, voting behavior, and public opinion. She is the author of Racial Coalition Building in Local Elections.

Rachael Cobb

Suffolk University

Cobb is Associate Professor of Political Science at Suffolk University. Her work focuses on voting rights, election administration, and political participation. She co-chairs Suffolk Votes, serves on Boston’s Election Advisory Committee and the MassVOTE board, and has helped recruit student poll workers since 2006.

Jennifer Domagal-Goldman

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge

Domagal-Goldman is Executive Director of the national, nonpartisan ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. She previously directed AASCU’s American Democracy Project and has contributed to publications on civic learning and democratic engagement. She serves on the National Leadership Council to Advance Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement for All.

Monica Holman Evans

DC Board of Elections

Holman Evans is Executive Director of the DC Board of Elections, where she oversees election operations and policy implementation. She previously served as the BOE’s Senior Policy Advisor and held roles at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, AmeriCorps, Legal Services Corporation, and the Administration for Children and Families.

Ian Simmons

Democracy House

Simmons is Co-Founder, President, and Board Chair of Democracy House and Co-Founder of Alumni for Democracy. He is also Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, where he advances investment, research, and policy strategies. His work focuses on strengthening democracy, public service, and civic leadership.