#  Julia Rafael-Baer 

Co-Founder and CEO, ILO Group

 

 

 



   ![Julia Rafal-Baer headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum12921/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2026-04/JRB%20Headshot.jpg?h=d13608dd&itok=I0eXDFwS) 

 



 





 

Dr. Julia Rafal-Baer is a nationally recognized education leader, founder, and board member with a record of creating and scaling organizations that deliver results for students and strengthen leadership across the country. She is the co-founder and CEO of [ILO Group](https://www.ilogroup.com/), founder and CEO of [Women Leading Ed](https://www.womenleadinged.org/), and co-founder and Partner of [The Forum for Educational Leadership](https://www.tffel.com/). Julia advises state chiefs and superintendents nationwide and has directly coached more than 200 leaders into superintendent and state commissioner roles. Her work impacts systems that collectively serve half of the students in the United States.

She serves on multiple nonprofit and federal boards, including a second four-year term on the National Assessment Governing Board, to which she was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education. In 2022, she was named a [Pahara Fellow](https://www.pahara.org/post/pahara-announces-new-class-of-leaders-for-the-pahara-fellowship). She has testified before Congress and is a frequent voice in national forums, most recently on artificial intelligence in education.

Through ILO Group, Julia launched AiLO, a division dedicated to helping state and district leaders adopt AI in ways that improve student outcomes while safeguarding privacy, security, and community trust. AiLO has published implementation frameworks, created the AiLO Coach for Education Leaders, and convened national experts to guide responsible AI use with a strong focus on cybersecurity, research, and risk mitigation.

Previously, Julia served as Chief Operating Officer at Chiefs for Change, where she raised more than $100 million, led national initiatives, and built leadership programs that propelled executives into top K-12 roles. Earlier in her career, she served as Assistant Commissioner at the New York State Education Department under Dr. John B. King, Jr., managing more than $150 million in statewide teacher and leader initiatives. She began her career as a special education teacher in the Bronx.

Julia graduated *summa cum laude* from The George Washington University with a B.A. in Psychology and holds a dual M.S. from CUNY Lehman College in Special Education and Childhood Education. She also earned a Master of Philosophy in Education Research and a Ph.D. focused on comparative education policy from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Marshall Scholar.



 

 

 





 

 

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     [Steering Committee](/person-categories/steering-committee)