Heidi Guarino
Senior Strategist & Storyteller
Heidi works as a coach, storyteller, strategist and researcher to help educators and policy makers make bold decisions, tell their stories, build and strengthen their policies, and ensure the right stakeholders are heard and engaged along the way. Her work is deeply informed by research, best practice, and experience viewing education from all angles: as a senior policy consultant at Education First, as a state-level policymaker and communicator at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as a local, regional, and statewide education reporter at the Associated Press, and - most importantly - as a mother to her two children.
Heidi is the child of public school teachers and grew up in a family where working hard was never a choice - it was expected. Her parents modeled that by working multiple jobs to put her through college, and she has spent her professional career working to build that culture of high expectations in communities around the country. Originally from Rhode Island, Heidi attended Emerson College in Boston, where she studied professional writing and began her career in journalism. She lives with her family and two labs in Salem, Massachusetts.
