Kelsey Krausen

Overview

Kelsey Krausen is Director of the Strategic Resource Allocation and Systems Planning (Resource Planning) team at WestEd. As Resource Planning Director, Krausen leads a team with deep expertise and experience in funding formula design and evaluation; technical assistance in the equitable, sustainable, and strategic allocation of resources; strategic planning and organizational reviews; resource coordination and interagency collaboration to support school-based health; and accountability and improvement system design and evaluation.

With over two decades of experience in education policy and administration, Krausen is dedicated to supporting continuous improvement across all levels of the nation’s education system and to ensuring that resources are strategically and equitably allocated to meet student needs. Using her experience as a qualitative researcher, educator, and technical assistance provider, Krausen has led projects in grades K–12 and higher education on state and district-level strategic resource allocation and funding formula design and expenditure and impact analyses.

Krausen’s systems planning work also includes leadership on both K–12 and higher education strategic planning and organizational reviews, as well as research and technical assistance to develop integrated mental and behavioral health systems, and a large-scale evaluation of California’s accountability system. Her areas of expertise include accountability systems, education finance, and systems improvement.

Krausen led the school finance research that brought to light the “Silent Recession,” a nationwide phenomenon in which, even with increasing levels of school funding, school districts face financial pressures that threaten to destabilize their budgets and force reductions in student services.

Education

• PhD in school organization and educational policy, University of California, Davis
• MA in public administration, San Francisco State University
• BA in literature, University of California, San Diego