Terra Wallin serves as the Expanded Learning Partnerships Fellow at AmeriCorps. In this role, she supports educational and other interagency partnerships by working alongside officials at AmeriCorps to utilize the power of AmeriCorps programs to support learning recovery and address workforce challenges, particularly for the communities and students most impacted by COVID-19.
Previously, Terra served as the Associate Director for Federal Policy and Interim P-12 Policy Director at the Education Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving student outcomes and eliminating educational disparities, particularly for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. In this role, she helped to set the direction and vision for Ed Trust’s federal policy work, particularly in the areas of assessment, accountability, and COVID-relief funding; provided technical assistance to national, state, and local advocates; and developed recommendations for federal, state, and school district policies.
Terra has served in a variety of roles at the school, district, and federal levels. She began her career as a high school special education and English teacher in Jefferson Parish Public Schools outside New Orleans, Louisiana. She served as chief of staff for academics at Denver Public Schools, as well as a consultant with Education First where she worked with state educational agencies, school districts, foundations, and non-profit organizations. Terra also brings five years of experience at the U.S. Department of Education where she co-led a team implementing key parts of the Every Student Succeeds Act and supported various school improvement efforts.
Terra earned bachelors’ degrees in accounting and political science from the University of Iowa, and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University.