Background
Linea Harding is a senior analyst with Bellwether. Prior to joining Bellwether, Linea worked in education philanthropy.
Most recently, Linea served as a program officer for College Success at the ECMC Foundation, where she oversaw a portfolio of $28 million in grants focused on increasing college persistence, two-year transfer, bachelor’s degree completion, and career readiness at graduation for students from underserved backgrounds. During her tenure, she also played a key role in the launch of two special initiatives designed to address gaps in the existing ECMC College Success funding portfolio. Before that, Linea served in several roles at Dalio Philanthropies, where she collaborated with youth-serving nonprofit leaders to build their organizational capacity and led internal efforts to improve grant-making, monitoring, and evaluation policies.
Linea holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in American government from Vanderbilt University, and additional credentialing in monitoring and evaluation from New York University’s School of Professional Studies.
Why I Do This Work
I believe in the power of education to transform lives and communities, but access to educational opportunities remains profoundly inequitable. Growing up on the rural west side of Kaua’i, Hawaii, resources were sparse and I exclusively attended Title I schools through middle and high school. I saw firsthand how a lack of access to quality schools and wraparound supports impacts students and — were I not privileged enough to be the daughter of a teacher who advocated for me and supplemented my education at home — my life trajectory would have been very different. Every young person, regardless of background, deserves a high-quality education.
Contact Information
linea.harding@bellwether.org
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