Board of Directors

Board President

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Betsy believes that great learning and creativity are two threads that help us create a joyful and vibrant life. Professionally, she’s been an award-winning journalist with organizations including The Washington Post, Scientific American and Forbes. And she’s been an entrepreneur, founding and running EdSurge, the go-to publication on education technology.

Betsy also believes that the most fundamental innovation happens when you tap the power of community. As a long-time resident of the Bay Area and parent, she’s been a fan of d.tech since its inception. In her spare time, she writes, swims and yes, is raising giant Sequoias from seed.  

Board Member

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Alan Crystal is a finance leader with experience scaling operations in organizations ranging from startup to Fortune 500, and industries including fintech, Internet, and enterprise software. 

Most recently, he was CFO of SmartBiz, a venture-backed fintech company that created an online platform to help under-served entrepreneurs get access to low-cost financing.  He has an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Political Science from Stanford University.

He started his career as a community development volunteer with the Peace Corps in Senegal.  His wife is an elementary school educator, and they have three children -- two in college and one in high school.  He's enthusiastic about the role that design principles can play in education. 

In his free time, he enjoys exploring the Bay Area hills -- on foot or on road bike. 

Board Member

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Dan Carroll is the Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Clever, a single sign-on solution used by more than 95,000 K-12 U.S. schools. Before co-founding Clever, Dan was a Teach for America science teacher and then Director of Data & Technology at STRIVE Prep in Denver.

He received his bachelor’s degree in human evolutionary biology from Harvard. He spends his free time ebiking with his wife and 4 year old daughter in search of the best playground.

Board Member

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Lauren is a researcher – practitioner with plans of completing her doctoral degree in educational leadership (emphasis: social justice & equity) in 2025. She is committed to educational equity and access for every student with an expertise in serving system-impacted populations.

Her research focuses on disrupting the school to prison pipeline.  Her positionality and expertise combined with decades of experience in the K-16 and beyond educational systems embodies cultural humility infused with innovation and advocacy. Lauren contributes to career education policy in California and has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union to investigate, report and ensure system effectiveness in alternative school settings.

Originally from a Southern California family who led by example, Lauren is an alumni Faculty Lecturer who enjoys teaching a social justice and career exploration course in the Department of Counseling at San Francisco State University.

Board Member

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Amy leads sales, success, marketing, and operations for Meadow. She has spent most of her career in education, focused on opening up opportunities and access for students.

Most recently, Amy was the Head of Schools and Businesses for Outschool during a time of tremendous growth.  Prior to that, Amy was the COO of Education Elements, an investor with NewSchools Venture Fund, a consultant, a middle school teacher, and an afterschool program provider.

Amy has an AB from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  She lives in California with two daughters who inspire her to make the world a better place.

Board Member

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Shamar Edwards has over 20 years experience leading and transforming schools as an educator, administrator, principal, and coach. She currently serves as a Senior Director of Equity for Alameda Unified School District.

She holds 3 masters degrees in the following areas: Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, USC, Masters in Education Administration with an emphasis in Social Justice, UC Berkeley, Masters in Negotiation Conflict Resolution and Peace building, CSU Dominguez Hills. Shamar Edwards has extensive training in Restorative Justice Practices, Trauma Informed Pedagogy, Culturally Responsive and Anti-Racist Pedagogy.

Her consultancy work focuses on Restorative School Leadership and she specializes in training school leaders to build their core competencies in emotional intelligence, communication, and conflict management skills.

Board Member

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Jessica Tsang champions research & development for education that is based on how people learn. Career highlights include designing a research-based math learning experience that was later integrated into a leading curriculum; co-writing a book for public audiences called The ABCs of How We Learn, which was named one of NPR’s Books We Love of 2016; and working with leadership to launch the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s learning sciences/education R&D portfolio. She has additional experience in nonprofit leadership, edtech, and the federal government.

Jessica believes a core purpose of education today is to foster students to be adaptive in a changing world while staying anchored in their sense of self and what they believe in.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University.

Board Member

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Erik is the Superintendent of Las Lomitas Elementary School District in Menlo Park and Founder of Solutionary Advisors, an education design consultancy. Erik has served as a high school teacher, middle and high school administrator, and former Superintendent of Menlo Park City School District and interim Superintendent of Fremont Unified.

Erik has been recognized as California Middle Grades Principal of the Year, a finalist for National Principal of the Year (2012), and San Mateo County Superintendent of the Year (2020). A bilingual Spanish speaker and father of three, Erik is a first-generation college graduate and passionate advocate for human-centered design in education.