Common Cents Education is led by Dr. Ellen Sherratt, a national expert on teacher shortages who has worked extensively with states, districts, and nonprofits to help leaders efficiently and effectively invest in the greatest-value school asset - excellent teachers.

As a thought leader, Dr. Sherratt spearheaded the national push states and researchers to improve teacher supply and demand data. She led a national advocacy campaign to invest in higher teacher salaries, including introducing legislation to the U.S. Congress and generating over 100 media citations with nearly 100 collaborating organizations.

As the Deputy Director of the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, a federally-funded technical assistance center at American Institutes for Research, Vice-President for Policy and Research at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and Board President & Acting Executive Director at the Teacher Salary Project, she supported over 30 state education agencies, presented at the National Conference of State Legislatures, Council of Chief State School Officers, Education Commission of the States, and other prominent state education conferences. She has been at the forefront of efforts to promote teacher leadership and teacher engagement in education policy-making, through advisory groups, publications, research, and collaboration with National and State Teachers of the Year and teachers’ associations and advocacy groups.

Dr. Sherratt has co-authored over 40 publications including two teacher quality books. She has been featured on NBC News, Fox News, The Washington Post, MSN News, Yahoo!News, Teacher Talk Radio, Korea FM Talk Radio, Education Week, Educational Leadership, and other national news outlets. Her academic training is in the economics of education. She earned her bachelor degree in Economics from Cornell University and her doctoral degree in Education from the University of Oxford.

She lives in Chicago with her husband and two daughters and loves travel, winter sports, and spending time in nature with family and friends.