Liz Willen, a longtime education journalist, has led the award-winning Hechinger Report staff as editor in chief since 2011. A sought-after moderator of education conferences and events, Willen also writes the “From the Editor’s Desk” column and manages funder relations. Willen previously worked at an array of newspapers as well as at Bloomberg News, where she received numerous awards for writing and reporting. At The Hechinger Report, she’s won awards for commentary and exemplary leadership. Willen got her start in newspapers as feature editor of “The Rag,” in Northport, New York, and spent years trying to figure out New York City's public school system, both as a reporter and a parent. She's a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a board member for the Spencer Education Fellowships at Columbia.