Rita Perez

Rita is a Senior Educational Equity Specialist with the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium’s Center for Education Equity (CEE) and the Program Manager for the Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE). Her work with CEE includes providing technical assistance and training for state departments of education, districts, and schools to improve educational opportunities for all learners. In her role as the Program Manager for CAFE, she provides staff management, budget oversight, and liaisons with the Maryland State Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Rita has almost three decades of experience in Pennsylvania public education as a teacher, elementary and secondary school principal, and district office cabinet member. She has experience working in large and medium sized schools districts of various contexts including urban, urban characteristic, and suburban. Rita had the honor and privilege of serving in cabinet level positions at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, including as Acting Deputy Secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Director of the Bureau of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction.