Emily Krone Phillips

Emily Krone Phillips is an author and communications professional focused on the intersection between education policy, research, and practice. Her recent book, The Make-Or-Break Year, was a Washington Post best-seller. It weaves together stories about Chicago students and educators with groundbreaking research on the critical importance of ninth grade academic performance for future academic success. Emily currently serves as Communications Director at the Spencer Foundation, which funds education research. She previously worked as an education reporter for the Daily Herald newspaper and as the Communications Director for the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. She holds a BA in History from Princeton University and an MS in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.