ELC Welcomes Four New Trustees Committed to Advancing Equity and Justice for Public School Students Nationwide

(From left to right: Alejandra Ceja, Laura Jiménez, Aaron Merkin, Shital C. Shah)

Education Law Center is excited to announce the addition of four new members to the organization’s Board of Trustees: Alejandra Ceja, Corporate Social Impact Executive; Laura Jiménez, former Director of Grantee Relations at the U.S. Department of Education; Aaron Merkin, Senior Advisor at the National Education Association; and Shital C. Shah, former Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona & Director of Strategic Partnerships at the U. S. Department of Education. Full bios appear below.

“Our new board members bring a wealth of experience and expertise that will strengthen ELC’s capacity to defend public schools and students and advance education equity,” said ELC Executive Director Robert Kim. “Their arrival comes at a critical moment, as threats to public education have never been greater.”

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I welcome these four impressive leaders in education, policy, and philanthropy to the Board and look forward to working alongside them to help guide ELC’s vital work,” said Kevin Welner, ELC Board Chair and Director of the National Education Policy Center. Mr. Welner is a research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Alejandra Ceja serves as a Corporate Social Impact Executive. In this capacity, she leads corporate social responsibility and philanthropy focused on advancing educational equity. Ms. Ceja is the former executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Prior to this role, Ms. Ceja was the chief of staff to the Under Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Her previous professional experience includes serving as the senior budget and appropriations advisor for the House Congressional Committee on Education and Labor and as a program examiner for the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Laura Jiménez most recently served as Director of Grantee Relations at the U.S. Department of Education where she designed systems and processes to solve operational challenges, ensuring the efficient distribution of $200 billion in federal COVID-relief funding. Previously, she was the director of standards and accountability for the Center for American Progress and served as the director of the College and Career Readiness and Success Center at the American Institutes for Research and as a special assistant in the federal Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Ms. Jiménez has also overseen large-scale college access programs funded by the National Institutes for Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and has served as a teacher in the Peace Corps.

Aaron Merkin serves as a Senior Advisor at the National Education Association (NEA). His focus areas include special projects, developing and implementing strategies for strengthening NEA’s relationships within the philanthropic community, overseeing a portfolio of NEA partnerships. Previously, Mr. Merkin worked with Committee on States as their National Program Director and as a consultant to the Democracy Alliance. Prior to joining these progressive organizations, he was employed at various law firms and investment banking institutions in the Chicago area. He serves on the board of the Alliance for Youth Action and New Media Ventures and was formerly on the board of the Youth Engagement Fund and the Wyoming Education Association. He has also worked on numerous political campaigns in Chicago, Denver, and Wyoming, and briefly taught in an elementary school classroom after obtaining his degree in education.

Shital C. Shah most recently served as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education and as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, she led partnership management, working with private sector, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations ensuring alignment with the Administration’s priorities. Previously she served as the Director of Philanthropic Engagement & Partnerships for AFT, where she represented AFT to the philanthropic sector, built knowledge and served as liaison to its diverse portfolio of work through the building of partnerships and collaboration on common issues.

Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240