| The People |
JOEL PACKER is a principal at The Raben Group, bringing more than 34 years of skills, knowledge and contacts in the education policy arena to the firm's clients. An acknowledged expert in federal education policy, Mr. Packer has successfully represented classroom teachers and other education employees, state universities and college students before Congress and the Administration. Over the course of his career, he has combined his analytical skills, messaging, coalition building and direct advocacy on a broad range of education and budget issues. Prior to joining The Raben Group, Mr. Packer spent 25 years with the National Education Association, the nation's largest professional educators' organization and labor union, where he most recently served as Director of Educational Policy and Practice (EPP). As director, Mr. Packer led a staff of 20 and oversaw NEA's primary policy center on elementary and secondary education. During this time, he was responsible for a wide array of issues, including school readiness, standards/curriculum, testing/accountability, teaching and learning conditions, quality educator workforce, parent/family involvement, education funding, special education, high school reform, 21st century skills/STEM issues, English Language Learners, vouchers and charters. Mr. Packer also led NEA's policy and advocacy work on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and was NEA's lead liaison with the U.S. Department of Education. He previously served as NEA's Manager for ESEA Policy and as a federal lobbyist covering a wide range of issues including education appropriations, class size reduction, school modernization, higher education, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Brady bill, school prayer, civil rights, judicial nominations, health care, pension and tax issues, environmental hazards in schools and regulatory reform. He has testified numerous times before congressional committees and spoken before a broad range of organizations including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Center on Education Policy, the National League of Cities, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the Learning Disabilities Association, the National Association of State Title I Directors, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. As a recognized expert in federal education policy, Mr. Packer has been regularly quoted in publications including the New York Times, Associated Press, Congress Daily, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, the Washington Post, Education Daily and Education Week. Mr. Packer also served as President of the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of some 100 national education organizations; co-chair of the National Strategy Committee of Citizens For Sensible Safeguards; chair of the lobbying task force of the Family and Medical Leave coalition; co-chair of the Leadership Conference for Civil Rights' lobby task force on the Civil Rights Restoration Act; co-chair of the lobby task force of the coalition opposing the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork; and co-chair of the Asbestos in Schools Coalition. Mr. Packer took a break from the NEA in 1993 to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the U.S. Department of Labor. Prior to joining NEA in 1983, Mr. Packer was Assistant Director of Government Relations with the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and Legislative Director of the United States Student Association. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Joel holds a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
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