Karega Rausch leads research efforts to build an evidence base of authorizing that leads to increasing and improving educational opportunities for students.
He has extensive charter school authorizing, education research and policy, community engagement, and strategic advocacy experience, all of which help ensure the research is high-quality and relevant. Before joining NACSA, Karega was a former Education/Charter Schools Director with the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office, the Board Chair of the Indiana Charter Schools Board (Indiana’s statewide authorizer), the Director of the Indianapolis affiliate of Stand for Children, and on the leadership team of Indiana University’s Equity Project, housed at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.
Karega has authored or co-authored numerous professional publications and has presented at many research conferences across the country on charter school authorizing, racial/ethnic disproportionality in school discipline, and special education reform.
Karega earned his Ph.D. and master’s degree in educational psychology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
Growing an evidence base of authorizing that leads to better lives for students is more than a job for Karega—it is a calling and passion. As a former authorizer, Karega knows firsthand how critical authorizing is to increasing and improving educational opportunities for children, especially students who do not have the same level of access to great schools. He also fundamentally believes the best decisions to improve students’ lives are made from a strong base of evidence.
Karega enjoys spending time with his family, running, twirling a cane, and engaging friends at his local church.
