Ruth Chacon brings three decades of experience leading government, nonprofit and foundation initiatives to champion standards, accountability and use of data to inform decisions in education. Ms. Chacon specializes at putting research “into play,” turning complex issues into tangible products and services that change the way people think and act – designing and directing strategies that build prestige, power and assets for organizations on the cutting edge of education and technology, and other issues of concern to American employers, workers and families. She creates cost-effective campaigns that command attention, make news, influence policy, engage the public and drive consumer demand. Her expertise in advocacy, community organizing, public engagement, market research, message development, writing, media relations, training and multimedia production has been tapped to create and lead strategies that strengthen capacity and position.
Representative accomplishments include:
- Directing media relations, public affairs, interagency communications, publication development and research dissemination for the National Education Goals Panel – a unique bipartisan body of White House officials, governors and legislators – for which Chacon also managed federal contracting and RFP design.
- Orchestrating headline-dominating release of achievement and curriculum data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study – working in conjunction with the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Education (Office of the Secretary, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs), the National Science Foundation and the White House to conduct Rose Garden ceremonies, news conferences, policy briefings, public forums and live TV events.
- Managing media and policy outreach, regional hearings and promotions for the NIH National Reading Panel, which established gold-standard guidelines to assess reading research.
Ms. Chacon has been tapped to advance the business and priorities of a virtual “who’s who” in education – launching policy initiatives, promoting services, securing media visibility and sustaining interest for such clients as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; President’s Commission on Arts; Marion E. Koshland Science Museum; National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future; National Center on Education and the Economy; National Governors Association; The College Board; American Association for the Advancement of Science; U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health; National Science Foundation; American Institutes of Research; Educational Testing Service; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Kellogg Foundation; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Pew Foundation; Annenberg Foundation; University of Pennsylvania; Columbia University; Harvard Graduate School of Education; and the University of Maryland.
Ms. Chacon cut her teeth in education as a protégé of American Federation of Teachers President Albert Shanker – rising from intern to interim director of the union’s public relations department. She served as senior counsel and senior vice president at Widmeyer Communications, where she managed a $2.5 million portfolio of accounts in education and governance. Other top posts include director of market development for Modern Education Services and vice president of the National TeleLearning Network.
