Krystafer Redden

Executive Director

Prior to joining WEPC, Krystafer Redden served as the Chief of Staff for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, supporting the vision of the Commissioner and advancing the operations of the agency while managing the Commissioner’s Office, the Division of System Transformation, and the Division of Instructional Programs. Before his role as Chief of Staff, he served the Department as the Associate Chief of Staff for System Transformation, as well as the COVID-19 Response Project Manager for Operations and Resources and, additionally, as a Transformation Specialist. Previously, he served the students of Rhode Island as a classroom teacher, teacher leader, and district administrator in Providence Public Schools, as well as an education policy fellow to then-Gov. Gina M. Raimondo.

Before moving to Rhode Island, Krystafer worked in the Texas Legislature and served a gubernatorial appointment on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of Houston, a master’s degree from Brown University, and graduate coursework at Rhode Island College; also, he is an alumnus of the Strategic Data Project Fellowship at the Center for Education Policy Research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, as well as the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) Methods Program at the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In his spare time, Krystafer serves on the City of Providence Ethics Commission, the alumni advisory board of The Terry Foundation, as well as on the board of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP).

Raised by his single mother and sister, Krystafer is a fifth-generation Texan from a family of public-school educators; he currently lives in Providence, Rhode Island enjoying all the history, shoreline, and proximity that New England has to offer.