Meredith Coffey is the senior policy and operations associate at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she writes commentary, conducts research, and manages events. Her work has been published or cited in outlets including The Washington Post, Education Week, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Bloomberg, RealClearEducation, RealClearInvestigations, and Research in African Literatures. Originally from Miami, Florida, Meredith holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania, a PhD in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and master's degrees in education from Hunter College and education policy from Johns Hopkins University. Before coming to Fordham, Meredith taught high school English at public schools in New York City and Fairfax County, Virginia. Today, she stays connected to the classroom through her role as an adjunct assistant professor of writing at the University of Maryland Global Campus. She has also worked as an editor for academic publications and as a contractor with the U.S. Department of Education. Meredith lives with her family in Silver Spring, Maryland.