The Education Trust  | Washington DC

Everton Blair, Jr. is a doctoral student in education leadership (EdLD) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

This summer, Everton will be working with partner organizations and state directors at The Education Trust in Washington, DC to build out the advocacy and strategy around ESSER spending and post-pandemic educational equity, highlighting bright spots across the country as districts spend remaining federal stimulus to accelerate student learning.

Before the EdLD, Everton served on the Gwinnett County Board of Education as county chairman and board representative -- the first person of color, the youngest-ever and the first openly gay member elected. A graduate of the district, Everton led Gwinnett County, the largest and most diverse school district in Georgia, through the pandemic, a historic superintendent transition, reaccreditation, redistricting and budget expansion, amid highly divisive partisan politics. Everton began his career as the founding AP Calculus teacher at KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School, later served as fellow in President Obama's White House Initiative on Educational Excellence and worked as a program director at the Broad Academy, UnboundEd and New American Leaders. Everton graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and from Stanford University with a master’s degree in policy, organizations and leadership.