Alumna Jennifer Rippner Joins University System of Georgia

Jennifer Rippner (PhD, 2013) joined the University System of Georgia team as executive director of Education Policy & Partnership and coordinator of Georgia Alliance of Education Agency Heads (AEAH) on May 1, 2015. Rippner most recently served as a postdoctoral research and teaching associate at the Institute of Higher Education (IHE) at the University of Georgia. As part of her work at IHE, she assisted USG with the College Completion Incubator project, a competitive grant program of Complete College Georgia designed to increase college completion rates through funding institutional innovations.

“I am excited for the opportunity to go back into state government and apply my research on P-20 councils with the Alliance of Education Agency Heads,” says Rippner. “Further, the opportunity to work with such talented professionals at the University System of Georgia on policy and partnership issues was hard to pass up!”

Rippner is also completing a new book titled the American Education Policy Landscape (to be published December 30, 2015 by Routledge). In today’s complex educational environment, it’s critical for educators to understand the policy landscape. Research-based and grounded in a neutral perspective, this accessible resource unpacks complex concepts and provides a comprehensive overview of Pre-K, K-12, and higher education policy.

She started her career as a charter school director in Florida and later became director of the Florida Charter School Accountability Center, a statewide resource center housed at Florida State University. Rippner moved to Georgia, where she managed the state’s charter school and alternative education programs at the Georgia Department of Education. She then served as education policy advisor to former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as well as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, a statewide P-20 accountability agency where she oversaw the establishment of several education research projects. She also served as a senior policy and legal advisor at EducationCounsel, LLC, a national education law and policy firm, where she authored several policy briefs regarding access and diversity issues in higher education.

In addition to her doctoral degree from the University of Georgia, Rippner earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida.