Breakfast Conversation on Investing in Education Impact

All funders interested in education are invited to an energizing dialogue with Kunjan Narechania, a national education policy expert and system change consultant. Ms. Narechania, CEO of Watershed Advisors, will share examples from her work across the country — including public-private partnerships such as Watershed’s collaboration with the Walton Private Philanthropy Group to advance Arkansas’s education priorities — as we explore strategies to invest in education and build partnerships that foster success. We hope this will be a thought-provoking, action-stimulating conversation for all involved. To that end, on the registration form, please note something you are hoping to learn or a question you’d like answered at this program. 

Agenda 

• 8:45 am – Coffee, breakfast, and behind-the-scenes tour of the newly renovated Hopkins Education Building (formerly Seton High School)  
• 9:15 am – Welcome and facilitated breakfast conversation with Kunjan Narechania 
• 10:30 am – Wrap-up and next steps 

This breakfast, hosted by the Johns Hopkins School of Education, kicks off a day of events featuring Ms. Narechania for the annual Hedeman Day, an initiative endowed by the William H. Hedeman Fund.  

This program is for Maryland Philanthropy Network members, funders, and invited guests only. Space is limited!  

Featured Guest 

Kunjan Narechania is the CEO of Watershed Advisors, working with states across the country to realize their most ambitious goals — from early childhood to K-12 education and the workforce. She leads a team of 35 people working across more than 15 states to envision, plan, and implement education policies that will materially impact the lives of young people. 
 
A key architect of one of America’s most powerful school improvement stories, Narechania sharpened her leadership in large-system and government agency management and operations, instruction, and education policy. Before founding Watershed Advisors, she served as a top leader at the Louisiana Department of Education and as CEO of the Louisiana Recovery School District (RSD). As CEO of the RSD, an urban school system of 45,000 students, she led the design and execution of the state-run district’s strategy in New Orleans, including a first-of-its-kind reunification with the local school system. During her tenure, a Stanford University study listed New Orleans among the top 10 cities nationwide for student growth from 2012-2017. 

As the Assistant State Superintendent of School Improvement at the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE), Narechania designed and oversaw Louisiana’s statewide plan to grow student achievement in its 500 lowest-performing schools under the Every Student Succeeds Act. As part of this work, she developed the SuperApp, one of the nation’s first systems for local school districts to simplify and leverage all state and federal grant funding to support state instructional priorities. Read more about Ms. Narechania here. 

About the Sponsor

The William H. Hedeman Day is made possible through the generosity of Elizabeth N. Hedeman and provides an annual program addressing the important topics of leadership, negotiation and related concepts. What began as a lectureship has grown to a full day of engagement with a prominent education leader to benefit students, faculty, staff, partners and the wider Baltimore community. Each year, this event honors the legacy of Mr. Hedeman who became a skilled negotiator and taught negotiations for many years at the Johns Hopkins University McCoy College. He also served as Director of Procurement for the Bendix Corporation, later known as the Raytheon Company.