Erin Faye Caesar ’14 recently presented at the Future of Education Technology Conference, “From Insights to Involvement: Enhancing Family Engagement with Data Modernization and Inter-operability.” Erin describes, “We highlighted the importance of families being able to engage with their students’ work on a regular basis and worked with vendors to highlight best practices around family use of these digital platforms.” 

Erin is an EdTech Markets Associate for New York’s InnovateEDU, where she works on both Project Unicorn and EDSAFE. “We perform school system data surveys to work with schools to learn what’s working and what isn’t, where are the pain points, etc. We then provide our findings in reports for school systems (and vendors) to engage with and make improvements.”

Erin spent six years at Watkinson. She reflects, “I felt like I was a working adult in my later years at Watkinson. I was on campus (happily!) from 8am-6pm because I was involved in so many programs and activities. That daily structure prepared me for not only college, but also my professional life afterwards.” 

While at Watkinson, Erin did it all, immersing herself in theater and chorus, and she was a three-sport athlete. “I really appreciated the community Watkinson created around me. I never felt alone no matter what group I was part of. I felt I was welcomed into any group I participated in, whether it was in class, in theater, or in sports.”  

She remembers, “My senior project, which was done in conjunction with SPHERE, was called ‘Spread the Dance.’ I worked with SPHERE students during the summers of my junior and senior years, teaching them various types of dance to pique their interest.” Through this experience she learned how to prioritize her work and coordinate her schedule. “I am so incredibly grateful for my teachers and the curriculum. Through reading and discussion, I came to understand the importance of literacy and forming my own thoughts around the content we were engaging with. At Watkinson, my teachers pushed me in ways I didn’t know were possible. Every break I had, I was meeting with a teacher to further my education.”

Erin attended St. John’s University, her mother’s alma mater, and graduated with a BA, with a communications major and business minor. “When I got to college, I was three steps ahead of my fellow students because my writing had been so closely guided and molded during my time at Watkinson. College was a breeze because of how Watkinson prepared me from an education, studying, and preparation standpoint.”

Following her graduation from SJU, she worked in the development office of the Parkinson’s Foundation. Then the pandemic hit. Erin found an opportunity with Collective Food Works, the nonprofit arm of Collective Fare. Erin’s role was to connect with neighboring organizations to create food delivery routes to folks who couldn’t get their own food and/or were immunocompromised. Additionally, she provided culinary education for young people (elementary through college), created a curriculum to train young people to become certified to work in the food industry, and helped create a pipeline to find work after finishing the certification. She also developed a program to support pregnant mothers, educating them around health and wellness, and to deliver fresh, prepared meals to mothers who were postpartum.

Erin exemplifies the power of a Watkinson education, seamlessly translating her multifaceted experiences into impactful professional work. Her journey from a dynamic student to an innovative professional demonstrates many of the values we cherish at Watkinson: curiosity, engagement, and meaningful community contribution. We are incredibly proud of Erin and cannot wait to see the continued positive impact she will undoubtedly make.