Senior Associate; New York City, NY

As a former educator, Clare understands firsthand all that the country asks of our schools and educators. As a result, Clare is passionate about her work at Afton to support charter operators and state education departments, giving schools greater opportunity to focus on their students and provide quality education to all children.

Clare’s expertise can be seen on multiple projects, including:

• leading research and data analytics efforts for a landscape analysis as a part of a funding adequacy study for a state education department.
• building a multi-year, multi-school financial model to be used as a tool by a leading foundation for deciding if and when to open new schools.
• conducting a financial capacity review to support a growing charter network in identifying key areas of growth and strategies for sustainable progress. 

Prior to joining Afton, Clare worked as a founding teacher for two charter schools in New York City. She was a homeroom teacher for the 1st and 3rd grades, the English Language Arts lead, Teacher Coach, and Grade Team Lead. Her favorite time of year was the Matilda unit in Novel Study; her students’ excitement each time she asked them to take out their books proved how enjoyable school could and should be for all students. Before teaching, Clare worked as an investment banking analyst for Rockefeller Capital Management.

Clare attended Brown University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Public Policy with a concentration in Education Policy. While at Brown, Clare spent time working as an after-school tutor at a local Providence Public School and as a research assistant for various policy projects on campus and in Rhode Island. In her free time, she enjoys getting outside of her New York City apartment to hike, run, and train for various triathlons and road races.