Thea Ulrich-Lewis

Thea Ulrich-Lewis has served as the Program Manager for Raise Your Hand’s Raising Texas Teachers initiative since 2017. In this capacity, she oversees the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers, which provides scholarships for top teacher candidates who plan to teach in majority-economically disadvantaged schools and shortage subject areas. She also leads the initiative’s efforts to enhance the quality of teacher preparation in Texas through partnerships with the state’s top university-based teacher preparation programs.

Thea joined Raise Your Hand in 2016 as a Research Associate, researching a variety of education topics with a focus on teacher preparation. She previously worked for the Texas Legislative Budget Board conducting school district management reviews.

A native New Yorker, Thea moved to Texas in 2009 to teach elementary school in the Rio Grande Valley through Teach for America. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas-Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in economics and Spanish from the University of Vermont.