Background
Andrew J. Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether, a national nonprofit working to transform education so young people can achieve outcomes that lead to fulfilling lives and flourishing communities. He is known for heterodoxy, empiricism, and student-focused pragmatism, and works at the intersection of research, policy, media, and practice.
In addition to Bellwether, Rotherham advises numerous education nonprofits and founded or co-founded two other education organizations. He worked at the White House as special assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Clinton administration and was appointed by governors from both major political parties to serve on the Virginia Board of Education.
A longtime independent voice in national education debates, Rotherham writes the Eduwonk.com blog and newsletter and has authored or edited four books on education policy along with more than 450 articles, papers, and book chapters. He is a frequent guest on podcasts and co-hosts WonkyFolk. Rotherham’s research and work have earned national awards, and his news media experience includes TIME, where he was a national education columnist, and U.S. News & World Report, where he was a contributing editor.
Rotherham is a visiting scholar at the University of Virginia’s EdPolicyWorks and serves on several advisory boards, including the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and the National Association of State Boards of Education’s EdTech Advisory Group on AI. He is a founding board member of The 74, an education news media outlet, and also sits on the boards of Classroom Champions, a nonprofit that pairs Olympic, Paralympic, and professional athletes with student mentees in Canada and the U.S., and Leading Educators, an educator leadership development nonprofit. He was a founding board member of several influential education organizations, including The PIE Network, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and The Mind Trust. He recently served on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on the American Workforce and holds senior fellowships at the Progressive Policy Institute and The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
Outside his professional work, Rotherham raises tens of thousands of dollars annually for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, serves as an EMT, and hosts a one-room schoolhouse concert series with his wife, a public high school English teacher. He lives in Virginia, dividing his time between a rural mountain community and the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
Why I Do This Work
Individuals and society thrive when people have choice and self-determination in their lives. A more equitable and effective education system than we have today is integral to that opportunity and to a more inclusive America.
Focus Areas
Artificial Intelligence
Rapid Field Analysis
State and Federal Systems
Contact Information
andy@bellwether.org
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