Edward Smith is a senior program officer with The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program. He helps
advance the team’s goals and functions by inviting and reviewing funding requests and making
recommendations for investments in ongoing or emerging innovations. He also manages a portfolio of
grants focused on promoting college opportunity and degree completion for marginalized student
groups.
He joined Kresge in 2019 after 10 years in education policy research, working to understand how city
leaders develop and advance education attainment initiatives rooted in a city’s assets and suited to the
needs of its people. Previously, he held positions at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research,
NASPA’s Research and Policy Institute and the Institute for Higher Education Policy.
Ed has consulted for New Jersey’s Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the Community College of
Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Education. He also taught courses at the high school,
undergraduate and graduate levels. He has served as an instructor of record at the Davidson County
Correctional Facility (Nashville, Tenn.), the Workshop School of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania State
University’s College of Education and the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, as well as a
bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in education from Pennsylvania State University.