Emily E. Murphy

Emily E. Murphy is Director of the Massachusetts Education Partnership (MEP) at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy. Emily has dedicated her career to integrating educator and community voice into district-level policymaking, ensuring that reforms enacted reflect both local need and classroom realities. In her current position as the MEP Director, Emily is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the MEP, a multi-year partnership that has worked with over 120 districts in the Commonwealth to strengthen labor-management relations and school-site operations. Prior to joining the Rennie Center, she was a special education teacher with expertise in modifying services, curriculums and lessons to students with significant disabilities. Through collaborating with diverse partners to ensure that students received the supports necessary to succeed academically and socially, she recognized that the hallmark to successful schooling is in establishing a culture that values and learns from differing perspectives. With this consistently in mind, Emily has worked to establish tools and resources for educators on a variety of topics related to effective teaming, interest-based bargaining, and strategies for implementing reform together. She is currently writing a book for Harvard Education Press on labor-management collaboration. Emily holds a M.A. in Education Policy and Social Analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University and a M.S. in Special Education from Simmons College.