Learning First Alliance Team

Richard M. LongExecutive Director
Richard M. Long is a nationally known advocate, writer and commentator on pre-K-12 issues and federal policy. Prior to joining LFA, he spent the past four decades working in education policy, including 37 years as the Government Relations Director for the International Reading Association. He also concurrently served as Executive Director/Government Relations Director for the National Title I Association from 1995 to 2014. He earned bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees from George Washington University.
Charlotte BlaneDirector of Communications
Charlotte Blane has worked for over 20 years in the non-profit K-12 education community. Most recently, she spent over seven years at the National School Boards Association (NSBA) developing and implementing digital communication strategies. Prior to NSBA, she was the Communications Director at an education research center of the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She also spent over seven years at AEL (now McREL International), where she worked on large-scale education grants including a Regional Education Research Laboratory and Comprehensive Technical Assistance Center. She has a bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York at Baruch and an MBA from the University of Miami.

Board of Directors

The Learning First Alliance Board is composed of chief executive officers and other senior staff of each Alliance member organization. The Board meets at least six times each year to determine Alliance policy and practice. Board members include:

2023-24 Board Chair:
Jill Cook
American School Counselors Association

2023-24 Secretary-Treasurer:
Frederick Brown
Learning Forward

Immediate Past Chair:
L. Earl Franks
National Association of Elementary School Principals

Board members: