With mixed emotions, Education First announces the retirement of William Porter, a leader and co-owner of the firm for over 17 years, at the end of 2024. Bill has played a key role at Education First from its very first days, helping to conceive and grow the organization from three consultants to a team of 80 today with reach and impact across the country.
We are both grateful for Bill’s many contributions to Education First and excited for his next steps. With Bill’s departure, the leadership team at Education First includes Ila Deshmukh Towery (Boston), Bill Horwath (Houston), Kelly James (Seattle), Rashidah Lopez Morgan (Charlotte), John Luczak (Chicago) and Jenn Vranek (Seattle).
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Alongside other early leaders at Education First (Jenn Vranek, Marc Frazer and Susan Bodary) Bill was committed to creating a different type of consulting firm—one that advanced excellence and did the best work possible for the education sector while also being an exceptional and supportive place to work. The hallmarks of Bill’s leadership include the importance of listening to different points of view and finding common ground, bringing moderation and humility to decisions about education policymaking, and taking “a half-step back” to fully consider the evidence before making a decision.
“One of the hardest parts of leadership can be knowing when not to lead any longer,” reflected Bill. “I have been at Education First for half of my career. And so 2024 seems the right time to leave. The organization is as strong as ever. And the education sector needs the innovative ideas, urgency for change, and investment in leader capacity that Education First is known for more than ever. Stepping aside from my role creates new opportunities for other leaders and other voices at Education First to now help set the firm’s direction.”
“Bill leads with intellectual curiosity, selflessness and authenticity. In his distinguished career, he has made countless contributions to elevate education policy and philanthropy. It’s been an honor to learn from him every day as we have built this organization. His presence will be missed, but the work he put in to build the foundation of Education First will serve on,” says Jenn Vranek, Founding Partner.
Bill will continue to be affiliated with Education First for at least the next year, working on select projects as “partner emeritus.” Over the longer term, he hopes to continue to make a difference through volunteering, coaching high school students from marginalized communities as they pursue college applications, and maybe even school board service.
Bill joined Education First in 2008 after a six-year stint establishing and growing Grantmakers for Education, a national network of funders and philanthropies interested in learning how to make a greater difference in improving student outcomes. At GFE, he helped the field establish “Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking,” which are still used by the organization today. He also led the nationally-recognized Washington state business coalition, Partnership for Learning, and provided communications and strategy advice to education organizations across the country as a consultant working with Andy Plattner and Adam Kernan-Schloss. Bill began his work in the education sector as an education policy advisor and eventually policy director to Colorado Governor Roy Romer, one of the nation’s first “education governors.” With Governor Romer, Bill helped negotiate and enact one of the nation’s first charter school laws (1992) and led one of the earliest efforts in the U.S. to establish common learning standards for all students in core subjects. He also helped design the first National Education Summit with all 50 governors and CEOs from each state in 1996.
About Education First
Education First is a national, mission-driven strategy and policy organization with deep expertise in education improvement. We help system leaders, advocates, funders and policymakers think bigger and work smarter to create the conditions that drive equity, coherence and excellence for all students. Our mission is to deliver exceptional ideas, experience-based solutions and results so all students—and particularly Black, Indigenous and other students of color and students living in low-income communities—are prepared for success in college, career and life.
