Hard-working and light-hearted. Passionate about student success. Obsessed with quality and professional growth. These are just a few of the traits we encourage and cultivate at Education First. Our vibrant culture is built on our core ideals: original thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurialism, authenticity and fun.
Click on the pictures below to get an insiders’ glimpse of our day-to-day lives at Education First.
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Jenn (WA) founded Education First in part to create the kind of work environment she wanted for all: talented colleagues working together in teams and learning from clients and each other to solve tough problems.
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Our team members are accomplished, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hungry to grow their practice. We are committed to creating ongoing opportunities for professional reflection and learning, including creating space for team members like Rashidah (NC) and Robert (DC) to bounce ideas off of one another.
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Our executive assistants are among the most talented, professional and hard-working contributors to our team. They also know how to relax and enjoy the outdoors.
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We always strive to find new and creative ways to engage audiences and present information in a fun way. Amanda (CO) is one of our expert facilitators and makes sure our clients never spend too much being "talked at" in meetings.
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There are many benefits to working from home but our top three are (1) No commute; (2) Yoga pants as work clothes; and (3) Furry co-workers are always welcome.
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Our team members are thoughtful and bring their varied experiences to every project.
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In states where we have multiple team members we encourage them to find time to get together regularly to work, catch up or just have a few drinks. Ila, Heidi and Emily make up Team Massachusetts.
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We work hard, but play hard too.
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Darth Vader himself made an appearance at a recent staff retreat.
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We always try to make the most of our time together in person.
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We may not work together in an office, but that doesn't mean we forget about birthdays. Everyone gets a special birthday delivery, complete with candles.
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Celebrating Dr. McLean's graduation!
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The agenda for our staff retreats is always jam-packed, but we save time to enjoy our host cities, and to spend time with one another. After working hard during the day, you might find us on the bocce court, geocaching, taking a ghost tour, enjoying a sail or river cruise, bike ride or hike, listening to music, eating too much BBQ, or checking out some of the local sites, like Chicago's Bean at Millennium Park.
Virtually amazing
Education First is a fantastic place to work. We want a workplace that is worth going to every day. With team members in more than 15 states, we work from home and we collaborate constantly. Our vibrant culture is built on our genuine care for our clients and each other.
We encourage every team member to bring her or his most authentic self to our work. What does bringing your authentic self to work look like? In a recent survey, 97% of our team shared they feel respected at Education First, supported to grow at their own pace, able to have a strong family life and personal life and are open to diverse perspectives. We welcome and challenge one another to bring our authentic selves to work each day because we believe it produces better results for our clients, for our team culture and for our individuals.
A day in the life of our firm
There is no typical day: Our team members have the freedom and the flexibility to determine the work schedule that will enable them to sustainably deliver high-quality work to their clients and collaborate with their colleagues. Some days that means working from a home office, while other days it means setting up in a coffee shop or preparing for a client meeting during a cross-country flight. In our virtual environment, Ed Firsters manage their own time based on project needs and in collaboration with project teams.
A sample week

Our day-to-day focus
- How can we help our district/school leader clients build stronger systems to provide educators with more targeted and actionable feedback and support?
- What strategic investments can we recommend to our funder clients that empower state and local leaders to identify and implement high-quality curriculum and assessments?
- How can we help our nonprofit client build a strategic plan that addresses immediate needs and ensures long-term growth and sustainability?
Dynamic work environment
- Every day has a lot of variety, brings new and different challenges and there’s no shortage of work to be done.
- We don’t have static teams. We work with a variety of Ed First colleagues on multiple types of projects and our role isn’t always the same on all of those projects.
- We’re constantly connected to others even though we are in our home offices.
Culture at Ed First by the numbers

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