Claire Robertson-Kraft, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of ImpactED and an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. She has more than fifteen years of experience working as a teacher, evaluator, and non-profit leader in the Philadelphia region. She has extensive experience teaching research methods and conducting evaluations in the areas of education, public policy, positive psychology, social impact, and community engagement.
Claire began her career as a third-grade teacher with Teach For America in Houston, which is where she discovered her passion for teaching. Currently, she teaches Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis, Program Evaluation, and capstone courses at the Fels Institute of Government, and she teaches the course Education Policy Issues at the Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about bridging the worlds of research and practice. In 2009, Claire edited A Grand Bargain for Education Reform (Harvard Education Press), which provided practitioners with research-based strategies for implementing new teacher policies in urban schools. Since then, she has worked with numerous organizations in the Philadelphia region to evaluate their impact and use data to inform organizational improvement.
Claire is also very active in the Philadelphia civic community, serving as the former board chair of Russell Byers Charter School, co-founder and former president of PhillyCORE Leaders, former board chair of Young Involved Philadelphia, and on the boards of YouthBuild Philadelphia and Leadership Philadelphia. She was recognized as one of the New Faces of Philly in 2011, an Emerging Leader with the Forum for Executive Women, and a Leadership Philadelphia Connector and Keeper in 2014.
Claire holds a BA in urban studies and philosophy and a PhD in education policy, both from the University of Pennsylvania. When she’s not teaching or helping organizations measure their impact, you can find her swimming at Pottruck Health and Fitness Center, biking on Kelly Drive, or eating out at one of the many delicious restaurants in her South Philly neighborhood.
