2026 North Carolina Education Innovation Lab Program – Planning Team

Rachel Candaso is the 2025 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year, representing Pitt County Schools and the Northeast Region. She serves as the AVID site coordinator and elective teacher at Wellcome Middle School, where she led the program to schoolwide implementation. A proud Teach For America alum, Rachel is a Kenan Fellow, beginning teacher mentor, and district leader in AVID. She has presented nationally and will serve as a 2025 AVID Summer Institute Educator Speaker. Rooted in her Guam heritage and passion for educational excellence, Rachel believes in the collective responsibility to prepare every student for success.

Geoff Coltrane comes to the NC Department of Public Instruction from the NC Governor’s office, where he served as deputy public policy director and senior education advisor under Governor Cooper. In this role, according to the press release, he advised the governor and senior staff on K-12 and postsecondary education policy issues and served as the governor’s primary liaison to the State Board of Education, NC Community College System, UNC System, and other K-12 and postsecondary stakeholders. In addition to roles with the NC School of Science and Mathematics and the Hunt Institute, Coltrane spent five years in the classroom as a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Forest View Elementary School in Durham Public Schools. Coltrane earned a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and history from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Jeni Corn, Ph.D., is a dedicated education research and policy leader with extensive experience bridging academic research, evaluation, and practice to inform policy in North Carolina. Dr Corn currently serves as the Social Sciences Research Director with the NC Collaboratory, a research funding agency that partners with academic institutions and government entities to transform research into practical information and technologies for use by the State and local governments and the communities they serve.

Geoff Coltrane comes to the NC Department of Public Instruction from the NC Governor’s office, where he served as deputy public policy director and senior education advisor under Governor Cooper. In this role, according to the press release, he advised the governor and senior staff on K-12 and postsecondary education policy issues and served as the governor’s primary liaison to the State Board of Education, NC Community College System, UNC System, and other K-12 and postsecondary stakeholders. In addition to roles with the NC School of Science and Mathematics and the Hunt Institute, Coltrane spent five years in the classroom as a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Forest View Elementary School in Durham Public Schools. Coltrane earned a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University and bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and history from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Rupen Fofaria serves as the director of operations and policy for the North Carolina State Board of Education, where he supports the Board’s strategic planning and governance work to strengthen public education across the state. He previously reported on education policy for EdNC.org and is a licensed attorney with experience in corporate and intellectual property law. His work focuses on helping the Board navigate policy decisions that support public schools and the Department of Public Instruction’s ability to serve students, educators, and communities across North Carolina.

Michael Maher is the Chief Accountability Officer at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where he leads the state’s accountability, testing, and research functions and oversees the Offices of Accountability and Testing and Research and Promising Practices. His work focuses on using data, evaluation, and evidence to inform statewide policy and improve student outcomes. Previously, he served as Deputy Superintendent of Standards, Accountability, and Research and as Executive Director of the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration, where he helped guide North Carolina’s academic recovery efforts and the implementation of major statewide initiatives. Maher began his career as a high school science teacher and later served in higher education as a faculty member at Saint Augustine’s University and assistant dean in the College of Education at NC State University.

As director, Joel is dedicated to building relationships with key state policymakers and stakeholders from across the political spectrum and supporting them in developing their education priorities. Prior to joining Education Commission of the States, Joel worked for more than 10 years in the nonpartisan bill drafting office of the Colorado General Assembly and served for nine legislative sessions as the amendment clerk in the Colorado House of Representatives. Joel has a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from the University of Mississippi, a master’s degree in fiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

Rupen Fofaria serves as the director of operations and policy for the North Carolina State Board of Education, where he supports the Board’s strategic planning and governance work to strengthen public education across the state. He previously reported on education policy for EdNC.org and is a licensed attorney with experience in corporate and intellectual property law. His work focuses on helping the Board navigate policy decisions that support public schools and the Department of Public Instruction’s ability to serve students, educators, and communities across North Carolina.

Michael Maher is the Chief Accountability Officer at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where he leads the state’s accountability, testing, and research functions and oversees the Offices of Accountability and Testing and Research and Promising Practices. His work focuses on using data, evaluation, and evidence to inform statewide policy and improve student outcomes. Previously, he served as Deputy Superintendent of Standards, Accountability, and Research and as Executive Director of the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration, where he helped guide North Carolina’s academic recovery efforts and the implementation of major statewide initiatives. Maher began his career as a high school science teacher and later served in higher education as a faculty member at Saint Augustine’s University and assistant dean in the College of Education at NC State University.