Matt Haney’s expertise about all matters education is well known in San Francisco … and beyond. So, it’s no surprise he was chosen as president of SFUSD’s board, with the official swearing in held on January 12.
In the past, Haney has taken on the role of advisor for the Mission Promise Neighborhood. He also sits on the board of MEDA – the lead agency of MPN – where he counsels on policy concerns for the low-income Latino community.
While Haney is well versed in the latest education topics, his own educational background is vast. Haney has a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA from Stanford University School of Education, a JD from Stanford Law School (with a focus on education law, and where he remains a lecturer/fellow) and an LLM in Human Rights from National University of Ireland, where he was a Senator George Mitchell Scholar. Impressive, indeed.
Currently, Haney works as #cut50 director of policy at Dream Corps, the vision of renowned civil rights leader and former Obama White House advisor Van Jones. Overseeing #cut50 means Haney is spearheading a national, bipartisan initiative to reduce the U.S.’s incarcerated population by 50 percent over the next decade. Haney believes there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform the nation’s broken criminal justice system.
At SFUSD, Haney is responsible for determining policy, budget, curriculum, educational goals and standards for all pre K-12 public schools in San Francisco. He has been a national leader on ending the school-to-prison pipeline, including penning landmark policy transforming San Francisco’s school-discipline system.
Mission Promise Neighborhood Director Raquel Donoso knows SFUSD made the right choice, exclaiming, “It is evident that Matt really cares about our students. He has demonstrated leadership in shaping policies that are essential to the families and students of the Mission Promise Neighborhood. I am sure he will flourish in this new role.”
On his Facebook page, Haney stated of his new position as president of the board of SFUSD as follows: “I am excited to serve as president of the school board, alongside my good friend vice president Shamann Walton, and my wonderful, dedicated colleagues. Let’s go to work for the kids!”