Ariel Murphy Bedford

Ariel Murphy Bedford has dedicated her career to advancing policies and programs that promote educational equity and deeply believes that as educators, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to build partnerships across a diverse group of individuals to make more informed decisions about our education system that prioritize our youth.Most recently, Ariel served as chief of staff at the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), where she managed daily operations for over 500 staff, coordinated executive team collaborations, and advised State Superintendent John White on key organizational decisions. Prior to that, Ariel served as Chief of Staff in the Office of Talent at the LDOE, where she led policy research and the development of a new education leader credentialing framework, and managed a grant opportunity for rural school systems to implement post-baccalaureate teacher preparation models.

Before joining the LDOE, Ariel worked for the U.S. Department of Education, where she served as the Confidential Assistant to the Assistant Secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and as the Success Mentor Coordinator for the My Brother’s Keeper National Success Mentors Initiative focused on addressing chronic absenteeism through a school-based mentoring model.

Through the Leadership for Educational Equity Policy and Advocacy Summer Fellowship, Ariel also served as an Education Policy Fellow with the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Democratic Staff, conducting research and managing preparation efforts for bill introductions, congressional hearings, and markups around diversity in the green job sector and juvenile justice.

Ariel began her career in education as an upper-elementary and middle school English teacher at Uncommon Schools through Teach For America. A California native, Ariel earned a bachelor’s degree in Government with a Public Policy minor in education from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education, a master’s degree in Politics and Education from Teachers College Columbia University, and was selected as a 2019-2021 Broad Resident in The Broad Residency in Urban Education.