A history grounded in research and impact
Family Engagement Lab (FEL) was founded by Vidya Sundaram, Elisabeth O’Bryon, and Bill Jackson in 2016 with the goal of advancing equitable educational outcomes for students through high-impact, tech-enabled family engagement in learning. Today, Family Engagement Lab has served more than 55,000 students in multiple districts across the country.
FEL’s co-founders worked alongside teachers and families to co-create a solution that supports teachers’ ability to regularly share accessible, learning-focused tips and activities with families. Equipped with information about what their children are learning and how to help at home, families are able to extend learning from the classroom to out-of-school settings. With more opportunities to develop and practice key skills, students demonstrate accelerated academic achievement. FEL works with districts, schools and teachers to engage families in learning with our evidence-based program FASTalk (Families and Schools Talk).
FEL’s co-founders worked alongside teachers and families to co-create a solution that supports teachers’ ability to regularly share accessible, learning-focused tips and activities with families. Equipped with information about what their children are learning and how to help at home, families are able to extend learning from the classroom to out-of-school settings. With more opportunities to develop and practice key skills, students demonstrate accelerated academic achievement. FEL works with districts, schools and teachers to engage families in learning with our evidence-based program FASTalk (Families and Schools Talk).
Meet the founders
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Meet the Team
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Hannah Jong Lee Director of District Partnerships |
Meet the Board of Directors
Bill Jackson, co-founder and Board Member
Bill Jackson is an independent consultant who works with K-12 education and workforce development nonprofits including, most recently, CodePath. Previously, Bill founded and served as CEO of GreatSchools, the nation’s leading guide to K-12 schools. Early in his career, Bill spent time teaching in the US and China and helped start two Silicon Valley companies. The father of two adult daughters, Bill holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University. He is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow, Ashoka Senior Fellow, member of the governing board of Noe Valley Ministry, and former board member at Coro Northern California.
Bill Jackson is an independent consultant who works with K-12 education and workforce development nonprofits including, most recently, CodePath. Previously, Bill founded and served as CEO of GreatSchools, the nation’s leading guide to K-12 schools. Early in his career, Bill spent time teaching in the US and China and helped start two Silicon Valley companies. The father of two adult daughters, Bill holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University. He is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow, Ashoka Senior Fellow, member of the governing board of Noe Valley Ministry, and former board member at Coro Northern California.
Allison Barr, Board Chair
Allison Barr is the Chief Operating Officer at English Learners Success Forum (ELSF), a non-profit organization that works to improve the quality and accessibility of instructional materials for English learners. As COO, Allison is responsible for ensuring the organization's operations including finance, talent and HR, and operational budgeting & planning are running smoothly and reflect ELSF's mission and values. Most recently, Allison was the COO of CenterPoint Education Solutions. Allison was also part of the core team that launched the Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers (PARCC) consortium and Parcc Inc., where she wore many hats—from assessment design and development, recruitment, strategic planning, and PMO oversight. At CenterPoint and Parcc Inc., Allison led the standup for both organizations, working closely with the Executive Teams to establish policies and operations, budgets, and systems.
Allison earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Allegheny College and her master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University. Originally from Pittsburgh, Allison now lives in Washington, DC.
Garima Sahai, Secretary
Garima Sahai is a technology leader, and was most recently Engineering Director at Google Inc where she led teams for Local Search and Map Ads. She started her career at Google as a Software engineer in 2003 and spent the first 8 years working on technology behind Google Books, enabling the mission of making otherwise hidden books and library content more accessible and useful to all. Garima migrated to the US in 2001 to pursue her MS in Computer Science from Stanford University, after completing BTech(Hons) in CS from BITS, Pilani, India. Earlier in her career, Garima actively volunteered for the education non-profit in India, Pratham, helping it establish its Bay Area chapter and supporting its mission of "Every Child in School and Learning Well'. Experiencing education & equity as strong enablers for her own growth & journey, she continues to stay passionate about driving social impact in these areas. More recently, she served as a DEI champion in Google Ads and a volunteer with Google.org. Garima lives in Los Altos, California and is a proud mother of 2 kids, attending schools in the Los Altos School District.
Garima Sahai is a technology leader, and was most recently Engineering Director at Google Inc where she led teams for Local Search and Map Ads. She started her career at Google as a Software engineer in 2003 and spent the first 8 years working on technology behind Google Books, enabling the mission of making otherwise hidden books and library content more accessible and useful to all. Garima migrated to the US in 2001 to pursue her MS in Computer Science from Stanford University, after completing BTech(Hons) in CS from BITS, Pilani, India. Earlier in her career, Garima actively volunteered for the education non-profit in India, Pratham, helping it establish its Bay Area chapter and supporting its mission of "Every Child in School and Learning Well'. Experiencing education & equity as strong enablers for her own growth & journey, she continues to stay passionate about driving social impact in these areas. More recently, she served as a DEI champion in Google Ads and a volunteer with Google.org. Garima lives in Los Altos, California and is a proud mother of 2 kids, attending schools in the Los Altos School District.
Damaris Santiago, Board Member
With extensive experience building and scaling marketing departments, Damaris Santiago brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of marketing to support high-performance teams and reimagining the customer experience in both large corporate and start-up environments. Damaris previously served as Vice President of Marketing at Learning A-Z and Chief Marketing Officer for DataBank, a Kyocera Group Company.
With extensive experience building and scaling marketing departments, Damaris Santiago brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of marketing to support high-performance teams and reimagining the customer experience in both large corporate and start-up environments. Damaris previously served as Vice President of Marketing at Learning A-Z and Chief Marketing Officer for DataBank, a Kyocera Group Company.
Rachael Lee, Board Member
Rachael is an investor with multi-stage experience in EdTech and enterprise software. Rachael was previously a Principal at GSV Ventures, where she focused on education and the future of work, and prior to that invested at Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Rachael also previously worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company and a product manager at Quizlet. Rachael holds a degree in computer science and economics from Duke University.
Rachael is an investor with multi-stage experience in EdTech and enterprise software. Rachael was previously a Principal at GSV Ventures, where she focused on education and the future of work, and prior to that invested at Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Rachael also previously worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company and a product manager at Quizlet. Rachael holds a degree in computer science and economics from Duke University.
Vidya Sundaram, President
Bio above.
Vidya Sundaram, President
Bio above.
