Heather Denny is currently a program officer with the Title I, Part D team at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that she served in the Montana Office of Public Instruction with the EHCY, Title I, Part D, and Title I, Part A programs for ten years, as a school district homeless liaison, and as a classroom teacher for students in grades 6-12. Heather has a BA in History and Certification in Secondary Education from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a MEd in School Counseling and a MEd in Educational Leadership from Montana State University. She is currently pursuing an EdD in Educational Leadership at MSU. Heather has focused her career on serving students experiencing homelessness and impacted by juvenile justice with an emphasis on rural and American Indian students.

Dawn Rains currently serves as an IPA Federal Policy Fellow to the US Department of Education. She is also CEO of Treehouse, Washington state’s leading organization focused on educational and other essential supports to youth experiencing foster care. Dawn has served as a senior leader at Treehouse for the past 14 years. She co-leads Project Education Impact, a statewide collective impact effort to achieve educational equity for children and youth experiencing foster care or homelessness involving legislators, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Dawn is also a former foster parent. Dawn holds an MPA from University of Washington and a BA from The Evergreen State College, has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, program management, and policy and legislative advocacy.