Irene Saunders

Irene Saunders has extensive experience in data management and analysis, as well as program management and operations. Irene began their career as a Publicity Intern at Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., where they assisted in editorial development and publicity. Irene then worked as a Research and Editorial Assistant at John J. Berger & Associates, where they provided research assistance and editorial review. Irene also served as a Teaching Assistant at the Early Academic Outreach Program.

Afterward, Irene joined the American Red Cross as a Ready Neighborhoods Program Specialist, supporting a multi-million dollar project to build disaster resilience in under-served neighborhoods. Irene created and maintained partnerships with various stakeholders and allocated resources for emergency preparedness.

Irene then worked at the New Sector Alliance, first as a Residency in Social Enterprise (RISE) AmeriCorps Fellow, where they applied training and mentorship to disaster preparedness initiatives. Irene then became the Program and Operations Coordinator, managing relationships with fellows and partners, implementing a national recruiting strategy, and delivering training curriculum.

Later, Irene joined KIPP Public Schools Northern California as an Associate, Data & Evaluation, where they analyzed school and student data and managed the student information system. Irene then became the Manager, Data & Evaluation, responsible for data visualization, reporting, evaluation, and developing a data warehouse.

Currently, Irene is working at the KIPP Foundation as the Director, Data & Analytics Solutions. Their role involves building data infrastructure capacity across the KIPP charter school network, supporting data systems implementation, and providing support on K-12 data systems and products.

Overall, Irene Saunders has a strong background in data analysis, program management, and building data infrastructure capacity.

Irene Saunders earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Society & Environment with a focus on Global Environmental Politics from UC Berkeley, Rausser College of Natural Resources, from 2008 to 2012. Simultaneously, they also obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley during the same period.