PTA Public Policy Team Bios |
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Director of Government Affairs mduran@pta.org Mishaela Durán serves as the Director of Government Affairs at the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), where she is responsible for developing public policy recommendations, representing PTA before Congress, the Administration, and national coalitions, and educating and mobilizing PTA members around critical public policy issues. Prior to joining the PTA, Durán was Vice President of Public Policy at the National Network for Youth, where she led the successful reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Durán has worked on children and youth policy issues for over a decade on the federal, state and local levels, concentrating on reforms in education, child welfare, juvenile justice, youth development, and service-learning. Mishaela brings a practitioner’s lens to her work in public policy, having worked as a public school teacher and social worker. She holds a Master’s degree in educational policy from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor’s degree in English literature from Yale University.
Elizabeth Rorick Elizabeth (Beth) Rorick currently serves as the Senior Policy Strategist at the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). In this capacity, she represents the PTA before Congress on a vast array of children’s education issues, including special education, early childhood and children’s behavioral health. Prior to joining the PTA in 2009, Rorick was the Assistant Director of Government Affairs at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry where she actively lobbied members of Congress on children’s health issues, specifically mental health parity, access to quality healthcare, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Prior to that position, she worked as Legislative Affairs Specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) where she advocated on underage drinking and victim’s issues. Since 2003, Rorick has worked in both private lobbying and nonprofit advocacy. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, magna cum laude, from North Carolina State University.
Lela Spielberg Lela Spielberg is an Education Policy Analyst for the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), where she monitors and analyzes legislation, regulations and federal funding streams related to public education and provides expertise on family engagement in education and the parental involvement provisions in ESEA-NCLB. Previously, Spielberg was a Teach for America (TFA) corps member in Phoenix, where she taught 4th grade and coordinated her school’s family and parent outreach efforts. Before joining TFA, she worked as a public policy intern at the Alliance for Excellent Education. She holds a Master’s degree in elementary education from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University. James Vanderhook James Vanderhook serves as the Health Policy Analyst for the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). In this capacity, he conducts policy research and analysis, advocates with Congress and the current administration, educates and mobilizes PTA members on key federal policies, providing policy expertise in child nutrition and health issues. In addition to Vanderhook’s focus on child health and wellness issues, he also covers school construction and matters affecting military families. Prior to joining PTA, Vanderhook worked in the Office of Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). During his time with Sen. Rockefeller, he worked on a vast array of issues that kept him in constant contact with West Virginia constituents. Vanderhook has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, majoring in philosophy with a minor concentration in mathematics.
Keri Haars Keri Haars serves as the Advocacy Specialist at the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), where she is responsible for coordinating grassroots advocacy around legislative matters. Passionate about advocacy, her goal is to get PTA members to speak up for the health and wellbeing of all children, and to ensure that policy makers hear PTA’s voice. Before joining PTA, Haars was the advocacy manager for the Association for Career and Technical Education, taught English while living in Japan, worked for former Congresswoman Karen McCarthy, and was a flight safety research assistant for NASA. She earned her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in experimental psychology from San Jose State University. |