Liz Newman

Senior Community Engagement Associate

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Liz Newman joined the Gardner Center in 2015 as a Senior Community Engagement Associate. Liz has worked with partners in K–12 and higher education, as well as the broader youth development and philanthropy arenas. Her work often focuses on building the capacity of partners to engage in meaningful inquiry that informs strategic planning, learning, and improvement.

She also plays a key role in developing and facilitating our youth participatory action research projects and fellowships. Liz is broadly interested in the ways in which K–12 institutions can support students to be successful upon graduation. Liz appreciates the opportunity to work on creative, talented, committed teams that strive to advance equity in educational attainment and to create opportunities for young people to play an active role in research, elevating their expertise and voice in meaningful ways that impact their communities.

Before joining the Gardner Center, Liz worked at a small consulting firm that worked with nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and foundations, focusing on organizational effectiveness, community engagement, communications solutions, and creative documentation.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, MArch (Master’s in Architecture)

Stanford University, BS (Civil Engineering)

Contacts

enewman@stanford.edu

Projects

College and career | Youth-led research | Schools/districts (9–12) | Nonprofits | Foundations

Paid research fellowship engages students in problem-solving

The Gardner Center’s Youth Action Research Fellowship brings new insights to its community partners and helps students develop key leadership skills.

See the project

Students at an alternative high school learn medical skills

Alternative high schools | College and career | Linked Learning | Schools/districts (9–12)

Case studies: What makes a great alternative high school?

Successful alternative schools across the state have a few things in common, including multiple pathways for students with different interests and needs and high levels of personalized support.

See the project

Young research fellow being interviewed by TV news station

Student research fellows share what matters to them and their peers

From LA to Oakland, over 50 high school and college research fellows have produced recommendations about teaching methods, mental health, college enrollment, and more.

See the project

Gardner Center Deputy Director Jorge Ruiz de Velasco leads a meeting

Alternative high schools | Schools/districts (9–12)

California Task Force on Alternative Education

Since 2017, the Gardner Center has convened a task force that advises the California Department of Education about how to improve outcomes for youth in alternative school settings.

See the project

Student and teacher work in school greenhouse packaging lettuce

Alternative high schools | College and career | Linked Learning | Schools/districts (9–12)

How to successfully support students in Linked Learning high schools

Gardner Center researchers developed a framework for high schools to support students in Linked Learning pathways — and then documented how schools and districts put it into practice.

See the project

Kids get on a school bus on a rural street

College and career | Schools/districts (9–12) | Foundations

Bolstering college readiness in a rural school district

Educators concerned about low rates of college readiness in Humboldt County use a “cycle of inquiry” approach to analyze, study, and act on data.

See the project

Publications

Youth Participatory Action Research: Positive Youth Development with the Power to Ignite Change

The Gardner Center has always engaged young people as research partners and participants and, in recent years, introduced a new research fellowship for high school and college students. This report shares our experiences implementing the fellowship in three California communities.

Authors: Newman, L., Sipes, L.

2022

Advancing Equity in College Attainment: Strategically Designing Scholarship and Support Programs

This article identifies four basic approaches that community foundations can use to renovate their scholarship programs and features three community foundations that have altered their scholarship programs to increase equitable outcomes.

Authors: Newman, L. , Hadley, C.

2021

Tools & Strategies for Foundations that Focus on Equitable College Attainment

How a group of California foundations transitioned from traditional, merit-based college scholarship programs to a more strategic, need-based approach — and how other organizations might do the same.

Authors: Newman, L., Sipes, L.

2020

Riverside County: Building Resilience Among Educators

This case study shares the story of how one continuation high school supports the mental wellbeing of its teachers, who can face burnout, compassion fatigue, and even secondary traumatic stress.

Authors: Geiser, K., Newman, L., Ruiz de Velasco, J. , Antonelli, J.

2022

Report & Recommendations of the California Advisory Task Force on Alternative Schools

This report summarizes the recommendations of the California Advisory Task Force on Alternative Schools about how to develop an accountability system and performance data dashboard for alternative schools, known as the Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS).

Authors: Ruiz de Velasco, J., Newman, L. , John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities

2020