Ray Anderson, Jr. is a Consultant with Phase 2 Consulting. He is a seasoned government and public relations professional, specializing in education and labor. He has worked in Washington, DC since 1999, where he has built extensive relationships in the education policy community and has advised a number of school districts. As the Director of the Chicago Public Schools Office of Federal Legislative Relations, Mr. Anderson has helped to share the Chicago Public Schools story in Washington as a soundly managed and systemically reformed school district with fiscal integrity and high academic standards. Mr. Anderson works closely with the Council of Great City Schools, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, among numerous other organizations.

 

With the support of the Illinois congressional delegation, Mr. Anderson has worked on several federal legislative initiatives that have become integral to the framework of our nation’s federal education policies. He has brought more than $40 million dollars back to Chicago in appropriations to supplement the school district’s social, health, and education services, in addition to his work helping to secure grants and legislation.

 

Mr. Anderson has facilitated many congressional field hearings in Chicago as well, including a 2006 hearing where he was featured on the September cover of Education Weekly with Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan who is now the Secretary of U.S. Department of Education. Further, Mr. Anderson has coordinated numerous visits to the U.S. Department of Education and prepared testimony for more than 20 Congressional hearings for Chicago school administrators before the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, House Education and Labor Committee, and the House Appropriations Committee. He has secured meetings for Chicago Public School officials and participated in numerous visits to the White House Domestic Policy Counsel to showcase best practices in education reform.

 

In an effort to share policy ideas and best practices from the Chicago school district’s education reforms, Mr. Anderson has arranged site visits and meetings in Chicago for several Illinois state legislators, such as President Barack Obama (during his term as State Senator for the 13th Legislative District of Illinois), and for several Members of the U.S. Congress, such as former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and Representatives from the Illinois Congressional Delegation, including Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Representatives Jesse Jackson, Jr, Jerry Weller, Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, and Rahm Emanuel, among others.

 

Mr. Anderson has received numerous commendations from legislators for his leadership in education policy, including letters from United States Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein. He was also the recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award from the Chicago Boys and Girls club in 2012. Mr. Anderson is a Chicago native and graduate of the Roosevelt University, and he lives in Washington, DC where he is an active member of the community, volunteering his time with civic organizations, including as a mentor for the Healthy Babies Project.