Our Team

Jonathan E. Collins, Ph.D. (he/him/his) is the associate director of the Center for Educational Equity and lab director of the School Board and Youth Engagement Lab. Collins is an assistant professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University and an assistant professor of political science (by courtesy) at Columbia University. His research focuses on race and ethnic politics, urban politics, state and local politics, education politics and policy, and democratic innovations. As a researcher, Collins has been at the forefront of the study of public participation at school board meetings. His book in progress, Democracy Speaks: School Board Governance through Deliberative Culture, demonstrates how democratic school board governance facilitates urban education policy reform. He has also written on civics education, African American voting behavior, local election reform, and school finance policy. His scholarship has been published in the American Political Science Review, Political Behavior, the Peabody Journal of Education, American Politics Research, the Urban Affairs Review, the Journal of Urban Affairs, and Local Government Studies. His public writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Education Week, the 74, and the Brookings Institute. Collins is also a regular columnist for Phi Delta Kappan. 

He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, the American Political Science Association's Susan Clarke Young Scholar Award, and the Brown University Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. His research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). 

He holds a Ph.D. in political science and an M.A. in African American Studies from the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) as well as a B.A. in English from Morehouse College.

Shawn Filer, M.A., currently serves as a Research and Innovation Associate at the Center for Educational Equity. He is a global strategist and technology leader at the nexus of capital markets, artificial intelligence, and education reform. A former McKinsey consultant with experience in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Tanzania, he brings a worldwide perspective to building systems that drive competitiveness and equity in the digital economy. A Stanford graduate in engineering and leadership studies, Filer integrates finance, technology, and policy to shape long-term growth. His contribution to public schools focuses on helping leaders optimize budgets, improve operational efficiency, and integrate community voice into policy decisions.

Kaysey currently serves as a Zankel Fellow with the S-BYE Lab, where she hopes to encourage
students to reimagine the schooling system while amplifying student voices through civic literacy and active school participation. Upon completing her program, Kaysey aspires to play an active role in building an education system that is compassionate towards students life experiences and reflective of the diversity that strengthens our society.

Briana Edwards is a first year student in the Politics and Education PhD program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to coming to Teachers College, she received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s in Teaching Secondary Education Social Studies from the University of South Carolina, and a Masters in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. During her time at the University of Pennsylvania, Briana worked on research related to civic opportunity gaps for urban youth, and assisted in the development of an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course designed for Penn students invested in contributing to youth civic engagement efforts in Philadelphia public schools.

Briana also worked as a social studies teacher in the Washington D.C. area for 4 years, teaching primarily government and civics courses. Her professional goals are centered around exploring new and innovative ways to increase diversity of stakeholder voice in education policy conversations and decisions. As a research assistant at the S-BYE Lab, Briana looks forward to using her prior experiences to support projects that help to amplify the voices of students, teachers, and parents in the education policymaking process.

Yordani is a sophomore at Columbia College studying American Studies and Education. He is deeply committed to education research and transformative pedagogies. As an aspiring researcher and educator, he currently works as a Research Assistant to Professor Amelia Simone Herbert, assisting on her book project about the politics of aspiration in Cape Town, South Africa. He also serves as a program facilitator for the Oyate Group’s Rise Leadership Program, where he co-facilitates the Beats and Rhymes and Youth Council cohorts. Additionally, Yordani is the Chief-of-Staff for Columbia Educational Simulations (CESIMS), the only nonprofit Model United Nations conference at Columbia, which brings together high school students from across New York City for an enriching educational experience. Finally, through S-Bye Labs, he is contributing to curriculum design for the Making Democracy Real project—an initiative that seeks to integrate democratic principles into the toolkit of the children of our tomorrow.

the School District Finance Survey (F-33), and is the founding architect of the School-Level
Finance Survey (SLFS). He recently retired from the U.S. Department of Education’s National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES) after almost twenty years of public service.

As the author of “First Look” reports and manager of public-use data releases on state, district,
and school-level finance data, Dr. Cornman’s work directly informed Title I funding allocations
and federal policy related to equity, resource distribution, and academic outcomes.

He brings a wealth of experience in longitudinal education research, having served as a former
assistant research professor at Georgetown University and administrator of the School Choice
Demonstration Project. His published dissertation, Do Equity and Adequacy Court Decisions
and Policies Make a Difference for At-Risk Students? highlights his long-standing focus on
improving outcomes for economically disadvantaged students.

Cornman holds a PhD and MPA from Columbia University, a JD from Thomas Jefferson School
of Law, and a BA from George Washington University. Stephen is also a licensed attorney as a
member of the District of Columbia Bar.