Hanna Melnick is a research analyst and policy advisor at the Learning Policy Institute, where she coleads the Early Childhood Learning team. Her research there has focused on school climate, social and emotional learning, accountability, and building effective early learning systems. Previously, Melnick conducted research on California's Local Control Funding Formula and early learning systems. She began her career in education as an elementary teacher. Melnick holds an MPP from the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and received her BA from Harvard University.