ERS Team

Kaitlyn Chantry

Kaitlyn leads ERS’ communications strategy, shaping the organization’s narrative, thought leadership, and external visibility across the education field. She translates complex issues in school finance, resource allocation, and systems change into accessible, compelling stories for policymakers, practitioners, funders, and the broader public.

At ERS, Kaitlyn has played a central role in field-building and coalition work. In 2023-24, she led the narrative working group for the national Coalition to Reimagine the Teaching Job and, since 2023, has helped guide ERS’s work in the Alliance for Resource Equity. In 2022, she and the ERS team received a PIE Eddie Award for their work on reimagining the teaching role. In 2025, she was the lead author of “5 Intertwining Financial Challenges Districts Are Facing” and continues to lead ERS’s work communicating the financial pressures confronting school systems, including shifts in federal funding, state economic conditions, declining enrollment, rising district costs, and student need. In 2026, she was awarded a residency in data storytelling through the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

Kaitlyn has 25 years of experience spanning communications, marketing, journalism, and content strategy. Before joining ERS, she served as Director of Marketing at Year Up, where she led field-building and executive thought leadership efforts, crisis communications, and marketing strategies supporting fundraising, corporate partnerships, and student enrollment. Earlier in her career, she held editorial leadership roles in journalism, including as Vice President of Editorial for a division of USA TODAY and as Senior Education Editor at The Conversation.

Her work has appeared in outlets including The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, Forbes, Newsweek, Education Week, The 74, K-12 Dive, and Chalkbeat. She is a member of the Education Writers Association, the National School Public Relations Association, the PIE Network, and the Data Visualization Society.

Kaitlyn began her career with 5 years at Exploration Summer Programs, teaching and leading activities and assemblies, while serving year-round in both the Communications and Admissions departments. She also worked for many years in public schools as a teaching artist and afterschool theatre director.

Outside of ERS, Kaitlyn is the President of TLP, a non-profit theatre company based in Chelsea, MA. She keeps busy with various artistic endeavors, her Etsy shop, and the great outdoors.

Previous Experience

Director of Marketing,
Year Up

Director of Content Services
Skyword

Senior Education Editor
The Conversation

Vice President of Editorial
Reviewed | USA TODAY

Co-Founder
Playhouse Education

Communications Assistant
Exploration Schools

Education

Ed.M., Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

B.A., Classics and Theatre
Dartmouth College