Sasha Rabkin EdD, AERDF’s (the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund) Chief of Program Strategy and Innovation, is a visionary leader with a deep- rooted commitment to revolutionizing education and empowering communities. With over two decades of experience in diverse educational landscapes, Sasha’s work has spanned federal, state, district, and school-level roles in urban, rural, tribal, and suburban settings.

At AERDF, Sasha leads the development of large scale, multi year advanced research and development projects and spearheads the building of capabilities and infrastructure to “de-risk” the high risk, high reward projects required for discovery and invention. Sasha brings an entrepreneurial spirit and a track record of innovation to his work. He is relentless in leveraging education’s transformative power and driving positive change for districts, schools, students, and communities.

Sasha served as President of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) from 2020, where he led the development of EOS’ strategic vision for scale. Prior, Sasha was Chief Program Officer at EOS and spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives that expanded EOS from 30 schools to over 350, generating over $40 million in earned revenue. Sasha lead the development of the EOS Portal, a pioneering online platform utilized by districts across the country to transform the measurement of readiness for academic rigor.

Before his tenure at EOS, Sasha dedicated himself to grassroots advocacy, organizing students and families for social change through The Institute for Community Leadership. Sasha was a founding member of the Jack Hunter O’Dell Nonviolence Leadership Education Center.