Director, Policy Center

Paul Koehler directs WestEd’s Policy Center, which links national policymakers with current research, practice, and unbiased analyses of trends and issues in education, with special focus on issues of concern in the Regional Educational Laboratory West's four-state region. Koehler also serves as the Director of the Southwest Comprehensive Center. Koehler, with other WestEd colleagues, consulted with California Secretary for Education, Richard Riordan, on the identification of alternative means to financing California's schools. Koehler also serves as an education advisor to the Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona. In previous WestEd work, Koehler headed a nationally recognized study for the Los Angeles Unified School District that has set in motion the development of new schools throughout Los Angeles and seeded a new, nonprofit chartering association. Prior to joining WestEd, Koehler served as District Superintendent for a large suburban school district in metropolitan Phoenix, a role that earned him recognition as the Arizona Superintendent of the Year in 1999. Earlier, as the Arizona Department of Education’s Associate Superintendent, he led the Education Services Division, including all curriculum, testing, and federal programs. In addition, he served as both the federal and state legislative liaison for the Arizona Department of Education. He recently received the Arizona Educational Foundation's 6th Annual President's Award for Excellence in Education. Koehler received a BS in business management, an MS in elementary education, and a PhD in elementary education and curriculum development from Arizona State University. Read about Paul Koehler's work as education policy advisor for Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona.


Tel: 602.322.7004
602.322.7007
Email: pkoehle@wested.org

Mailing Address:
2020 N. Central Avenue, Suite 660
Phoenix, Arizona 85004-4598

Policy Briefs
Policymaker and Stakeholder Convenings
Southwest Comprehensive Center
State and Regional Analyses
Resource Involvement:
An Analysis of Utah's K-3 Reading Improvement Program

Voices from La Frontera: Study of School Districts Along the United States/Mexico Border