Erin Harless
About Erin Harless
Erin Harless serves as the Director of Strategy at Merit America, where she focuses on aligning company goals with operational strategies and enhancing organizational effectiveness. She has a strong background in education policy and management, having held various roles in research and strategy at organizations such as NewSchools Venture Fund and SRI International.
Current Role at Merit America
Erin Harless serves as the Director of Strategy at Merit America, a position she has held since 2022 in Los Angeles, California. In this role, she analyzes market trends to inform the organization's strategic direction and contributes to its growth and scalability. Erin collaborates with cross-functional teams to drive strategic projects and works on initiatives aimed at enhancing organizational effectiveness. She engages in data-driven decision making and focuses on aligning company goals with operational strategies.
Previous Experience at NewSchools Venture Fund
Erin Harless has extensive experience at NewSchools Venture Fund, where she held multiple roles from 2018 to 2022. Initially, she worked as an Education Pioneers Fellow for two months in 2018. She then served as a Senior Analyst in Innovative Schools from 2017 to 2018, followed by a position as Senior Manager of Research and Learning from 2021 to 2022. During her tenure, she oversaw the design and execution of a four-day offsite event for 180 team members, achieving a high attendee Net Promoter Score.
Education and Expertise
Erin Harless holds a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Public Policy from Duke University. Her educational background supports her expertise in strategy development, research, and evaluation within the education sector.
Research and Evaluation Background
Prior to her roles at NewSchools Venture Fund, Erin worked as a Senior Research Analyst at SRI International from 2014 to 2017. In this position, she managed the research and evaluation agenda, leading to the launch of a pilot randomized controlled trial with 100 participants. She also served as a Research and Evaluation Graduate Intern at Citizen Schools from 2013 to 2014, where she contributed to improving the rigor of key results in evaluations.
Leadership and Strategic Planning
Erin has demonstrated leadership capabilities through her role as Chief of Staff for the Executive Team at NewSchools Venture Fund. She developed and operationalized the team's charter, facilitated weekly meetings, and designed leadership retreats. Her involvement in strategic planning and execution includes participating in leadership meetings to align strategic priorities and developing frameworks for evaluating strategic opportunities.