Laurie Posner, MPA
Senior Education Associate, Intercultural Development Research Association

Laurie Posner, M.P.A., is an IDRA senior education associate. She has made a career commitment dedicated to community-based problem solving and initiatives that address structural inequities. At IDRA, she is working with cross-cultural, cross-sector networks in the South and Southwest to strengthen public education, including efforts to amplify the voices and perspectives of family, community and education leaders to improve public schools.

Ms. Posner has an MPA from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, where she received the Philip J. Rutledge Award and is an alumna of Leadership Texas and National Urban Fellows.

Specializing in technology integration, Ms. Posner has designed and developed dynamic online networks, webinars and videoconferences and coordinates the online Graduation for All e-letter and network. The web-based networks were designed and managed for community-based organizations in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, cross-race and cross-sector leaders in southern states, and youth alumni of dropout prevention program. And she created IDRA’s national, bilingual Graduation for All e-letter and network to inform growing subscriber base. For example, one issue leveraged partnerships to reach 50,000+ readers.

Ms. Posner’s work also focuses on the production of “actionable knowledge” – clear, concrete, accessible information that people can use to make a difference in education. In this vein, she has researched and published articles on the development of actionable knowledge and community engagement strategies to strengthen schools and has presented on education research, data and the use of education indicators, to public and private sector leaders.

She led the team to produce Continuities – Lessons for the Future of Education from the IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, an international publication that captures lessons learned in the U.S. and Brazil from IDRA’s highly successful Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program. Ms. Posner managed IDRA’s Graduation Guaranteed/Graduación Garantizada: Statewide Summit on School Holding Power, a gathering of school, business, and community leaders from five Texas regions to develop recommendations to address the dropout issue and co-led a briefing for state legislators.

In addition, Ms. Poser has facilitated cross-race, community blueprint dialogues in five southern and southwestern cities under IDRA’s Pathways to Graduation initiative, developing web-based network for partners and video on student voices, to highlight student perspectives on school access/equity.

Prior to joining IDRA, Ms. Posner served as a senior analyst with Berkeley Policy Associates, directing federally- and foundation-funded research on health, employment and micro-enterprise, and as manager of the Center on Economic Development and Disability at the World Institute on Disability.

She also consulted with non-profit, public and private sector organizations, to design training modules on early childhood education for Raising A Reader affiliates, Peninsula Community Foundation. She designed an EPA-funded community engagement and marketing project for Odyssey that built transit agency and community partnerships, increased ridership and improved services in low-income, minority communities. Led qualitative evaluation and needs assessment and trained staff on conducting interviews/focus groups. Posner led focus groups for Voices of Youth: Focus Group Findings from LGBTQ Youth in Contra Costa County Schools under subcontract with Korwin Consulting, for the California Endowment.

Ms. Poser has received several awards including Leadership Texas, Foundation for Women’s Resources; Pi Alpha Alpha Academic Honor Society, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College; the Philip J. Rutledge Award, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College; a Fellowship in the San Antonio Community Education Leadership Program; and the Genevieve Mott Literary Award.

IDRA is an independent, private non-profit organization, directed by María Robledo Montecel, Ph.D., dedicated to strengthening public schools to work for all children. As a vanguard leadership development and research team for more than three decades, IDRA has worked with people to create self-renewing schools that value and empower all children, families and communities. IDRA conducts research and development activities, creates, implements and administers innovative education programs and provides teacher, administrator, and parent training and technical assistance.

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