Benjamin N. York, Ph.D.

Experience

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  Stifel Financial Corp.

  Jan 2002 - Jan 2004

  Equity Research Analyst
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  Lehman Brothers

  Jan 2004 - Jan 2005

  Equity Research Analyst
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  UBS

  Jan 2005 - Jan 2006

  Equity Research Analyst

  Contributed to the sector investment thesis and investment recommendations on the equities of publicly traded energy companies, helped build and maintain financial models, research briefs, and research reports, and helped spread awareness about the firm's research

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  Charter School Growth Fund

  Jan 2006 - Jan 2008

  Associate

  Helped conduct due diligence on expanding networks of charter management organizations (CMOs), helped take CMOs through growth planning (e.g., developing a strategic plan and financial model), and built the firm’s first financial model template for use among portfolio members

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  Boulder Valley School District

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2009

  After School Program Manager

  Directed the daily activities of an after-school program at a public elementary school, led a staff of five serving kindergarten through 5th grade students through a mix of play-based and educational activities, and managed the program’s finances as well as relations with parents, teachers, school administration, and the district

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  Stanford University

  Jan 2009 - Jan 2016

  • Led a team of researchers at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education (GSE) focused on behavioral barriers and scalable approaches in education • Research widely covered by the press and other outlets including: The New York Times; Education Week; The PBS NewsHour; The Huffington Post; TechCrunch; Washington Center for Equitable Growth; The Seattle Times; The Thomas B. Fordham Institute; OZY; Fred Rogers Center; Good; New America Related publications:York, B. N., Loeb, S., & Doss, C. (2019). One step at a time: The effects of an early literacy text-messaging program for parents of preschoolers. Journal of Human Resources, 54(3), 537-566.Doss, C., Fahle, E. M., Loeb, S., & York, B. N. (2019). More than just a nudge: Supporting kindergarten parents with differentiated and personalized text messages. Journal of Human Resources, 54(3), 567-603.Cortes, K. E., Fricke, H., Loeb, S., Song, D. S., & York, B. N. (2021). Too little or too much? Actionable advice in an early-childhood text messaging experiment. Education Finance and Policy, 16 (2), 209-232.Cortes, K. E., Fricke, H., Loeb, S., Song, D. S., & York, B. N. (2023). When behavioral barriers are too high or low–How timing matters for text-based parenting interventions. Economics of Education Review, 92, 102352. Show less • Led multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and conducted quasi-experimental studies leveraging large datasets• Consulted for San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), supporting the district with the selection, implementation, and evaluation of an early literacy interim assessment system, developing its first kindergarten readiness measure, and training teachers on using data to inform instruction• Served as a referee (reviewer) for Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, which publishes rigorous, policy-relevant research of interest to those engaged in educational policy analysis, evaluation, and decision making• Presentations include: TEDxStanford (2015); Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE, 2015); the Annual Conference of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP, 2012, 2013, 2014); Stanford University/San Francisco Unified School District Partnership Meetings (2013a, 2013b, 2014); the Annual Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University (2014) Show less

  • Executive Director

    Jan 2015 - Jan 2016

  • Educational Researcher (and Ph.D. student)

    Jan 2009 - Jan 2015
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  ParentPowered Public Benefit Corporation

  Jun 2016 - now

  Founder, CEO, and Board Member

  • Founded ParentPowered, a public benefit corporation (PBC), to create and scale highly accessible, evidence-based family engagement programs, with a strong commitment to pursuing social impact and a focus on serving economically disadvantaged families and children • Led visioning, strategy, product, research, fundraising, funder and investor relations, and board recruitment and management• Built and led a large cross-functional team including graduates from Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Berkeley, and Oxford• Led the organization from inception to over 1 million families served through partnerships with over a thousand educational institutions across all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands• Currently focused as a board member on supporting ParentPowered’s transition to its first non-founder CEO, visioning, and the organization’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) strategy• Speaking engagements: Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Innovation in Early Childhood Panel (2022); Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (GLR) Learning Tuesdays Webinar, Supporting Parents at Home ― An Essential Step to Mitigating Learning Loss (2022); Panel at Cornell Summer School for Social Impact (2021); Promise Venture Studio, Early Childhood Innovation for Impact in a Crisis: A Show+Tell Pop Up Series (2020); ASU+GSV: Empowering the Parent as an Educator (2019); Nickelodeon Preschool Education Symposium (2018); Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) National Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC, 2018)• ParentPowered PBC is the leading digital family engagement provider for schools, districts, Head Starts, community organizations, and government agencies serving families from birth through 12th grade Show less

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  Start Early

  Mar 2021 - Jun 2022

  Advisor, National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement

  Provided high-level guidance and support to the Center, which was awarded to Start Early in 2020 by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, in partnership with the Office of Child Care

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  Homework Central San Mateo

  Jan 2023 - now

  Board Member

  Support the advancement of Homework Central’s mission with an increasing focus on long-range strategic planning