Profile
Kirsten brings more than 25 years of firsthand experience to her charter, district and nonpublic school clients. She counsels charter and private school leaders and boards of trustees, as well as district superintendents and boards of education, and has extensive school law practice experience including:
- Private and parochial school law
- Charter school law
- Special education
- Board governance and oversight
- Student-related issues
- Charter renewals and school improvement
- Mergers and turnaround
- Regulatory compliance
- Opening and closing charter and nonpublic schools
- Education policy
- Strategic planning and implementation
- Crisis management
- Project management
Kirsten started her legal career as a law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She served as the Senior Program Officer for a private charitable foundation where she developed and executed multi-year strategic initiatives focused on increasing access to high quality education, particularly for low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities, through investments and project management across charter and district sectors, colleges and universities, and external partners. Kirsten also served as the lead education researcher and consultant at the Center for Governmental Research, and has experience developing operating systems for new charter schools. She has held key positions in the Rochester City School District as Assistant Counsel, Special Assistant to the Superintendent, and Chief of Student Support Services.
