Policy reports

Eileen Harrity is the former Director of School Authorization at Chicago Public Schools, where she worked in a variety of roles before coming to New Zealand. As Director of School Authorization in the Office of New Schools and Programs, she identified and approved new school models aimed at improving college and career readiness for Chicago students. Prior to that, she managed a portfolio of strategic projects including aligning teacher professional development with district priorities, creating a market-driven model for school operational services, and procuring student assessments. Prior to joining Chicago Public Schools, Eileen worked for Deloitte Consulting where she specialised in large-scale transformations for public sector clients and on the use of public private partnerships to improve government services. She has also worked as a policy analyst at the state and federal levels in the United States and at the national level in the United Kingdom. She is a graduate of Harvard University (AB), Columbia University (MPA), and the London School of Economics (MPA). During Eileen’s Ian Axford Fellowship exchange to New Zealand she was based at the Ministry of Education, where she researched the use of vocational pathways and business-to-education partnerships to ease student transitions into careers and further study.