Associate Director, State Engagement & Policy 

As Associate Director for PARCC State Engagement and Policy, Lesley Muldoon is responsible for managing areas of Achieve’s support to states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), including deepening and strengthening state participation in PARCC to support their success in the transition to the Common Core State Standards and PARCC assessment system, working with states on strategies to address policy barriers to implementation, and facilitating consortium governance and communications efforts for PARCC state leaders. She joined Achieve in August 2008 as a Policy Analyst and, in 2010, helped manage Achieve’s successful efforts on behalf of PARCC states to secure a $186 million Race to the Top assessment grant. From 2011-2012, she served as a Senior Policy Associate for State Leadership & Policy Development.

Prior to Achieve, she worked on Capitol Hill for four years as an aide to U.S. Representative Rush Holt, a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Originally from central New Jersey, Lesley received a bachelor’s degree in English and history from the University of Maryland. In 2008, she earned a master's in public policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, where she focused primarily on high school and postsecondary policy. She and her husband live in Washington, D.C.