Kathryn Mullen Upton, Esq. Director of Sponsorship

Kathryn Mullen Upton has been the Director of Sponsorship at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation since 2005. She is responsible for the management and oversight of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s charter school authorizing operation, including oversight of the charter school application and contract process, evaluation of charter schools (site visits), oversight of staff administration of technical assistance to schools, directing the charter school renewal/non-renewal process, executing the school closure process, managing relationships with Fordham-authorized schools, recruiting new schools to the Fordham Foundation’s portfolio, and researching issues relevant to schools in the Fordham portfolio. Ms. Mullen Upton has served as a charter school application reviewer for National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and is a regular presenter on various charter school issues at national conferences. She previously taught in Dayton Public Schools, and was formerly a staff attorney in the Civil Division of the Circuit Court for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Ms. Mullen Upton holds a bachelors degree from the University of Dayton, and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School.