
Program Scientist, AI for Math and Education, Renaissance Philanthropy

Senior Program Advisor, Education, Renaissance Philanthropy

Senior Program Advisor, Education, Renaissance Philanthropy

Program Manager, The Learning Agency

Director, Engineering Hub, Renaissance Philanthropy

Program Associate, The Learning Agency

Founder, LEVI & President, Renaissance Philanthropy

Director of Program Delivery, Renaissance Philanthropy

Senior Research Advisor, LEVI

Program Delivery Specialist, AI and Education, Renaissance Philanthropy
Program Scientist, AI for Math and Education, Renaissance Philanthropy
Ralph is a Program Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy, leading our Artificial Intelligence initiatives, including AI for Math and AI for Education. In this role, Ralph supports the implementation, design, and development of AI pipelines across our programs (LEVI, AI for Math Fund), and advises on selecting promising AI solutions and future technical initiatives. Before joining RenPhil, Ralph developed prototypes and evaluated AI models for education and helped design and execute the Feedback Prize competition series.
Ralph holds a D.Phil in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, specializing in graph representation learning (GRL). Before his D.Phil, Ralph completed an M.Sc in Computer Science at the University of Oxford, studying neural approaches for program synthesis, and a B.E. in Computer Engineering from the Lebanese American University. Beyond AI, Ralph is a keen classical pianist and is passionate about learning, games, and puns!
Senior Program Advisor, Education, Renaissance Philanthropy
Meg Benner is a Senior Advisor within the AI in Education program at Renaissance Philanthropy, where she draws on her experience as a nationally recognized expert in education technology and innovation.
Alongside her role at Renaissance Philanthropy, Meg serves as the President of The Learning Agency, where she designed and now oversees the annual Learning Engineering Tools Competition—a multi-million dollar initiative that supports cutting-edge edtech solutions by harnessing digital technology, big data, and learning science. In this role, Meg directs a broad portfolio of projects, ranging from AI-driven technical development to the administration of large-scale grant programs.
Previously, she served as Senior Director at Leadership for Educational Equity, managing a team responsible for fellowship programs and policy workshops for former or current teachers. She has shaped education, disability, and labor federal policy while working on Capitol Hill, where she worked for both the House and the Senate. She served as a policy advisor for Representative George Miller on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as education advisor for both Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Christopher Dodd.
Meg began her career as a first- and second-grade teacher in the Bronx and Washington, DC. She holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.Sc. in Teaching from Pace University.
Senior Program Advisor, Education, Renaissance Philanthropy
Ulrich Boser is a Senior Advisor within the AI in Education program at Renaissance Philanthropy, bringing extensive experience in the field as a founder, writer, and researcher.
Working in close collaboration with Renaissance Philanthropy, Ulrich also serves as the CEO of The Learning Agency, one of the nation’s leading education innovation organizations. Under his leadership, The Learning Agency has developed and continues to execute the world’s largest education technology competition, among a number of other initiatives.
Ulrich’s research and writing have shaped national conversation on education. His work has been featured everywhere from the front page of USA Today to The Tonight Show. He has advised many foundations, governments, and companies on education issues, and his research has directly influenced federal legislation aimed at optimizing school spending.
He is the author of Learn Better, a widely acclaimed book on the science of learning. Named “the best science book of the year” by Amazon, Learn Better has been featured in outlets such as Wired, Slate, Vox, Fast Company, and The Atlantic.
Ulrich has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among others. He is a recipient of the Education Writers Association award and has been an Arthur F. Burns Fellow. His expertise has been featured on CNN, NPR, and NBC Nightly News.
Earlier in his career, Ulrich was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He also worked as a contributing editor for U.S. News & World Report and as a researcher for the newspaper Education Week. His career has also included stints as a publisher, English language instructor, and door-to-door canvasser.
Ulrich received a B.A. in History with Honors from Dartmouth College.
Program Manager, The Learning Agency
Kellen Buckley has a background in project management and development in the education nonprofit world that she brings to TLA and LEVI. She has worked with different education projects and organizations in the US, Spain, and Central America.
Prior to joining The Learning Agency, she worked in fundraising and development for a nonprofit organization that improves access to education for students in Guatemala.
Kellen received her BA in Global Studies and Spanish from Providence College.
Director, Engineering Hub, Renaissance Philanthropy
Thomas leads Renaissance Philanthropy’s Engineering Hub, which provides technical support and advice for mission-driven educational technology projects. Before joining Renaissance, Thomas worked in educational technology for over 10 years, applying ideas from cognitive science and AI for the benefit of students. Thomas was previously a math teacher in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Thomas holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of Minnesota, where he used an information theoretic lens to investigate mental effort and learning rates in humans. Thomas also earned a Master’s in Liberal Arts at St. John’s College’s Great Books program, and before that, graduated summa cum laude from Hendrix College with majors in both mathematics and international relations.
Program Associate, The Learning Agency
Daniel Dela Cruz has a background in advocacy, fundraising, and project management. Prior to joining TLA, Daniel served as a presidential appointee at the U.S.
Department of Education in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. He has held roles on Senator Mark Kelly’s (D-AZ) re-election campaign and at the Democratic National Committee.
Daniel holds a BA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Founder, LEVI & President, Renaissance Philanthropy
Working both for President Obama and then Eric Schmidt, Kumar has been active in building out the field of learning engineering, which sits at the intersection of learning science and computer science. He previously shaped science and technology policy for the Obama Administration for nearly eight years, serving in a variety of roles in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Examples include (1) the Educate to Innovate campaign, with more than $1 billion in in-kind and philanthropic investment; (2) development of major State of the Union initiatives to train 100,000 excellent STEM teachers and bring computer science to all K–12 students; and (3) creation of iconic events such as the White House Science Fair.
Prior to his time in government, Kumar worked on behalf of parents and children seeking educational reform as an education lawyer and advocate. Kumar received a BA from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Yale Law School.
Director of Program Delivery, Renaissance Philanthropy
Truman Liu is Director of Program Delivery, where he leads program strategy, grant funding, community-building, impact tracking, and program operations for AI for Math, and AI and Education.
He brings relevant experience managing education programs at Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative of Eric and Wendy Schmidt. Prior to that, Truman worked in education technology across U.S. school districts (including for 500,000+ K – 12 students at Los Angeles Unified), as well as the nonprofit and philanthropic spaces in the US, Africa, and Latin America. Truman previously advised Fortune 500 companies as a consultant; he managed complex operations for a $50B+ merger across 10,000+ employees, stood up a Fortune 100 center of excellence to standardize processes, and implemented a $25M cost reduction strategy across three continents.
Truman received his MBA / MA Education from Stanford University and his BA from Georgetown University.
Senior Research Advisor, LEVI
John Whitmer, Ed.D. is an education research and data science expert with over a decade of experience leading research and development using advanced algorithmic approaches. He collaborates with philanthropic sector leaders to create evidence frameworks and evaluate investments, with education technology organizations to implement leading-edge evidence approaches and algorithmic systems, and to implement data science techniques into agencies.
Prior to this role, John led teams of data scientists, research scientists, and machine learning engineers in large educational assessment companies (ACTNext), edTech providers (Blackboard). Earlier in his career, he led large-scale efforts in academic technology deployments for the California State University and California Community College systems. John is a California convert and in his spare time enjoys cooking, mountain biking, and all things outdoors.
Program Delivery Specialist, AI & Education, Renaissance Philanthropy
Meghan Whittaker is a Program Delivery Specialist at Renaissance Philanthropy, bringing deep experience in policy development, special education, and civil rights.
Meghan also serves as a Program Director at The Learning Agency, where she supports program strategy and delivery in close partnership with Renaissance Philanthropy.
Previously, she has worked to increase educational opportunities for all through roles in the federal government and in the nonprofit sector. Meghan served as the Chief of Staff in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education. She also worked as the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Meghan has experience serving as a legal advocate for incarcerated youth and as a therapist for children with academic, behavioral, and emotional challenges.
Meghan holds a J.D. and M.S.W. from the Catholic University of America.