The Century Foundation (TCF), a leading progressive public policy think tank, today announced the addition of Conor Williams and Tatiana Melguizo to the organization’s roster of education experts. The additions bring TCF’s education team into the double digits, the highest level in its history, and come at a period of tremendous growth for the organization overall.

Dr. Conor Williams joins TCF as a fellow, working in the organization’s Washington, D.C. office. His work at TCF will focus on issues related to educational inequality and reform, including a project to elevate school efforts to serve dual language and English learner students. A prolific writer on a variety of education topics, Dr. Williams was most recently a senior researcher at The New America Foundation, where he served as the founding director of the Dual Language Learners National Work Group.

Dr. Tatiana Melguizo joins TCF as a nonresident fellow, focused on the economics of higher education. She is currently an associate professor at the University of Southern California, where she uses quantitative methods to study how different factors, programs, and policies affect the educational outcomes of minority and low-income students. Dr. Melguizo has been a member of TCF’s 2012 task force on community colleges, as well as its 2017 working group convened to study how K-12 cost analysis might be applied to community colleges.

“Conor and Tatiana are world-class scholars who use their research and expertise to expand opportunity, reduce inequality, and ensure fair outcome for students of all backgrounds,” said TCF president Mark Zuckerman. “At a time when the federal government is turning its back on students and schools across the country remain stubbornly divided and unequal, their work is more important than ever. I’m thrilled to welcome them to the TCF team.”

With the additions of Williams and Melguizo, TCF has nearly doubled its education team in the last year alone. In 2017, the organization brought on Capitol Hill veteran Denise Forte as a senior fellow, Young Invincibles cofounder Jen Mishory as a senior fellow, and attorney Yan Cao as a fellow. Additionally, former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. and former Congressman George Miller joined TCF’s board of trustees.

Conor P. Williams

Conor P. Williams is a fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about education, immigration, early education, school choice, and work-life balance challenges for American families. He is an expert on American educational inequity, English learner students, dual immersion programs, urban education reform, and the history of progressivism.

Williams was previously a senior researcher in New America’s Education Policy Program, a senior researcher in its Early Education Initiative, and the founding director of its Dual Language Learners National Work Group. He has taught postsecondary courses at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and American University. He is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ State Policy and Research for Early Education (SPREE) Working Group.

Williams is a regular columnist at the 74 Million. His work has also been published by the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, The New Republic, Dissent, Commonweal, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, and elsewhere.

Williams holds a PhD and MA in government from Georgetown University, an MS in teaching from Pace University, and a BA in government and Spanish from Bowdoin College. Before beginning his doctoral research, he taught first grade in Brooklyn, New York. Williams attended public schools for his K–12 education, and has two children enrolled in a public elementary school in Washington, D.C.

Tatiana Melguizo

Tatiana Melguizo is an associate professor in the USC Rossier School of Education. She works in the field of economics of higher education. She uses quantitative methods of analysis to study the association of different factors, educational programs, as well as public policies on the persistence and educational outcomes of minority and low-income students.

Melguizo received a PhD in Economics of Education from Stanford University and an MA in Social Policy from the London School of Economics. Her work has been published in Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Teachers College Record, The Journal of Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education and Higher Education.

She is a recipient of the American Education Research Association (AERA) dissertation grant. Melguizo has also received grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Spencer foundation, AERA, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Jack Kent Cooke, Nellie Mae and Lumina foundations and from the Association for Institutional Research, National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (AIR/NPEC).

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The Century Foundation is a progressive public policy think tank that seeks to foster opportunity, reduce inequality, and promote security at home and abroad. Founded in 1919, TCF pursues its mission by conducting timely, nonpartisan research and policy analysis that informs citizens, guides policymakers, and reshapes what government does for the better. TCF is based in New York, with an office in Washington, D.C. Follow the organization on Twitter at @TCFdotorg and learn more at www.tcf.org.