Team

Patricia Levesque

Patricia is the Executive Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s deputy chief of staff for education, enterprise solutions for government, minority procurement, and business and professional regulation. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy. Contact Patricia at Patricia@ExcelinEd.org.

Fonda Anderson

Fonda is the Chief Development Officer, and oversees all developmentaspects of the Foundation. Anderson most recently was the NationalDevelopment Director for the American Federation for Children and theAlliance for School Choice, based in Washington, D.C. Previously she wasthe senior vice president of development and communications for theGovernor's community service foundation, focused on education, whileGovernor Bush was in office. She brings more than 25 years of marketingand communications experience to the organization, 15 of that innonprofit management. Contact Fonda at Fonda@ExcelinEd.org.

Mary Laura Bragg

Mary Laura serves as Director of State Policy Implementation for the Foundation for Excellence in Education.  A former classroom teacher, Mary Laura directed Governor Jeb Bush’s statewide literacy initiative, Just Read, Florida! As director, she was responsible for crafting and implementing the policies that helped place a command focus on reading instruction in Florida.  She has served on advisory groups on adolescent literacy for both the Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Governors Association.  She is also a member of Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Advisory Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. Contact Mary Laura at MaryLaura@ExcelinEd.org.

Raquel Cisneros

Raquel is the Development Manager for the Foundation for Excellencein Education. Prior to joining the Foundation she served as theAssociate Director of the Romero Britto Foundation in Miami where shewas responsible for the charitable contributions to hundreds oforganizations. Previously, she served as the Communications Coordinatorfor the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment where sheadministered a multi-million dollar financial incentive and oversaw thedesign and execution of Florida’s film marketing campaigns. ContactRaquel at Raquel@ExcelinEd.org.

Minda Corso

Minda serves as the Social Media Manager for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. She is responsible for bridging the gap in the ever-expanding world of social media, where a growing number of people are gathering their news. Prior to joining the Foundation, Minda served in a similar capacity for a non-profit organization in Dallas, Texas. She spent three years in administration for a large charter school in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2005. Contact Minda at Minda@ExcelinEd.org. 

Jaryn Emhof

Jaryn is Director of State Initiatives and Communications for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. As Director of State Initiatives, she leads the advocacy and implementation teams as they work with state policy organizations, business leaders, lawmakers and state policymakers to advance bold reforms to improve student achievement.  As the Communications Director, she serves as spokeswoman for the foundation and facilitates media inquiries and interview requests. Jaryn joins the foundation from the Florida Senate where she served for 10 years, working as a legislative assistant and, most recently, Communications Director for Senate President. Contact Jaryn at Jaryn@ExcelinEd.org.

Christy Hovanetz, Ph.D

Christy is a Senior Policy Fellow for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Dr. Hovanetz served as the Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Education and Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Florida Department of Education. She has worked in education policy for the state of Florida since 1999 serving as the Director of Evaluation and Reporting, Director of Reading First and a Policy Analyst for Governor Jeb Bush. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with a minor in mathematics and is a certified teacher in the state of Minnesota. She earned her Masters of Public Administration at the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration and Policy at The Florida State University. Contact Christy at Christyh@ExcelinEd.org.

Carrie Jenkins

Carrie Anne Jenkins manages the accounting andfinance operations of the Foundation.  She has over 10 years of relatedexperience in both public accounting and private industry and is aFlorida licensed Certified Public Accountant.  Carrie earned twoundergraduate degrees from The Florida State University, graduatingmagna cum laude in Accounting and summa cum laude in Finance. ContactCarrie at Carrie@ExcelinEd.org.

Matthew Ladner

Dr. Matthew Ladner is the Senior Advisor of Policy and Research forthe Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served as VicePresident of Research and Goldwater Institute. Prior to joiningGoldwater, Ladner was director of state projects at the Alliance forSchool Choice. Ladner has written numerous studies on school choice,charter schools and special education reform and coauthored Report Cardon American Education: Ranking State K-12 Performance, Progress andReform for the American Legislative Exchange Council. Ladner hastestified before Congress, the United States Commission of Civil Rightsand numerous state legislative committees. Ladner is a graduate of theUniversity of Texas at Austin and received both a Masters and a Ph.D. inPolitical Science from the University of Houston. Ladner is a SeniorFellow with the Foundation for Educational Choice and the GoldwaterInstitute. Dr. Ladner lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Anne andchildren Benjamin, Jacob and Abigail and can be reached at Matthew@ExcelinEd.org.

Lowell Matthews, Jr.

Lowell serves as a Senior Policy Advisor forthe Foundation for Excellence in Education. He previously served asStaff Director for the Florida Legislature's Senate Committees onEducation Pre-K-12 and Higher Education, which oversee all aspects ofeducation in Florida. Lowell is a graduate of the University of Michiganand Vanderbilt University Law School. He also served in the U.S. Army.Contact Lowell at Lowell@ExcelinEd.org. 

Cari Miller

Cari Miller serves as a Policy Advisor for theFoundation for Excellence in Education. A former elementary teacher andreading coach, Cari most recently served as the Deputy Director of JustRead, Florida!, Governor Jeb Bush's statewide literacy initiative. AtJust Read, Florida!, she served in various capacities: ElementaryReading Specialist, Director of Reading First and Director of ElementaryReading. In all of her roles, her sole missions was to improve studentreading achievement across the state. Contact Cari at Cari@ExcelinEd.org. 

Erin Price

Erin is the Program Director for the Foundation for Excellence inEducation.  Prior to joining the Foundation, Erin was the Deputy FinanceDirector for two major campaigns in Westchester County, NY and NY Statewhere she helped raise a total of over $10 million.  Erin's careerstarted at Teach for America where she was a Recruitment Fellow in theirnational headquarters in NYC.  She then joined the development staffof The New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall as the Hall's SpecialEvent Manager.  She received her Master's in Public Administration fromthe Robert F. Wager School of Public Service at NYU.  Contact Erin at Erin@ExcelinEd.org.

Lisa Kammel Raguso

Lisa is the Arts for Life! Scholarship Program Director. Lisa previously served as the Program Director for Arts for a Complete Education with the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, a statewide arts education alliance. She has also worked with former First Lady, Columba Bush, in carrying out her arts initiative. Lisa has also worked for the Florida Department of Education, Nova Southeastern University in Miami and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Contact Lisa at Lisa@ExcelinEd.org.