Rich Billings

RICH BILLINGS

The Broad Residency Class of 2008-2010
Current Organization: Rocketship Education
M.B.A., Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
B.A., Mathematical Economics, Haverford College

“Disparity in educational opportunity is the civil rights and moral issue of our generation. While tutoring urban youth during and after college, I became astounded at the extent that America’s educational system continues to fail the children who need it the most. The Broad Residency provides a unique opportunity to apply my educational background, consulting skills and teaching experience toward improving the quality of education our country provides and breaking the historical link between socio-economic status and access to educational opportunities.”

Rich Billings is currently the director of finance for Rocketship Education, a national nonprofit elementary charter school network dedicated to eliminating the achievement gap.  In this role, he has led the strategic planning process for both Rocketship and Launchpad, its newly created real estate and facilities group.  Previously, Billings served as director of strategic planning for finance and operations for Envision Schools. During his time at Envision, he founded the finance and accounting department, secured $2MM in working capital financing and managed the start-up of Envision Schools Colorado, an Envision franchise in Denver which opened its first school in August 2009.

Prior to joining The Broad Residency, Billings was an economic consultant for Charles River Associates and PA Consulting Group, where he performed economic and financial analyses of regional energy markets to advise Fortune 500 energy and commercial banking clients on their valuation methodologies and risk management strategies. Previously, he worked as a math teacher and soccer coach at a high school near Washington, D.C.  Billings has volunteered as a mentor for disadvantaged youth in Washington, D.C., served as a Kellogg Board Fellow on the board of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, and spent a summer in East Africa performing market research on HIV diagnostic equipment.  Billings participated in The Broad Residency in Urban Education Cohort 2008, serving his two-year Residency in Rocketship Education.