Mycaeri Atkinson is pursuing a PhD in education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to receiving the PEAR Fellowship, Atkinson was a policy fellow at Research for Action, where she conducted research on postsecondary education finance and access. At Research for Action, Atkinson conducted studies on promise programs, racial equity, community college, immigration policy, student success funding, and emergency funding.
Previously, Atkinson was a research analyst and writer for the Virginia Department of Health and a third grade teacher in the Teach For America Greater New Orleans Corps. She received a BA from New York University and an MA from Brown University’s Urban Education Policy program. At Brown, Atkinson assisted with community democracy research with an emphasis on racial equity, intersectionality, and imbalances in deliberation.