Meet the Speakers: The Path to Good Jobs
✨ Meet the Speakers ✨
Clair Minson is an experienced nonprofit professional with over a decade of expertise in workforce development and mental health counseling. Since 2017, her work has focused on advancing racial equity in workforce systems by addressing systemic and institutional racism in policies, practices, and culture. She is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and facilitator.
Clair is the Founder & Principal Consultant of Sandra Grace LLC, a change management firm that supports nonprofit, public, and private organizations in embedding racial equity into their operations and programs. She has led cross-sector equity initiatives nationwide and developed key frameworks and reports addressing occupational segregation, employment disparities, and equitable workforce practices.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University, a Master’s in Community Counseling from Argosy University, and is pursuing a Master of Divinity at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. Clair is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Maryland.
Sara Sands Francis, Ph.D. joined Good Reason Houston in 2025 and has been working in K-12 public education for over a decade. As the Managing Director of Data Impact and Strategy, Sara is committed to translating data and research into actionable insights that foster better outcomes for all students.
Before joining Good Reason Houston, Sara held roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She was most recently an Instructional Associate Professor at the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs and the Associate Director of the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics & Leadership. Her research focused on K-12 education policy and politics, emphasizing governance, school reform, and teacher and organizational leadership.
Before coming to Houston, Sara was the Research & Data Manager for the Office of Teacher Leadership at the New York City Public Schools. Sara holds a Ph.D. in Politics & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
As the Director of Research and Data, Patrick Gill supports Good Reason Houston’s internal teams and external stakeholders through research, data analysis, and data storytelling. He also leads the organization’s dynamic original research agenda oriented around a deeper understanding of where our system currently stands and where it can go.
Prior to joining Good Reason Houston, Patrick partnered with Houston-area school districts as a researcher with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Houston Education Research Consortium, examining topics such as student mobility and career and technical education. He began his career in education as a City Year corps member in Chicago before working at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston.
Patrick received his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, and his Master of Public Policy from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, where he specialized in education policy.
Nicole Masters joined REDF in 2014, where she has held several leadership roles across programs and portfolio management. As portfolio director, she oversaw a portfolio of 22 social enterprises that employed over 25,000 individuals nationally. As VP of programs, she led REDF's data and learning function, including evaluation systems and third-party research partnerships. Prior to REDF, she spent six years at Nonprofit Finance Fund directing advisory services on the West Coast. In her current role as Senior Principal of Programs, she leads strategic innovation pilots and develops curriculum across REDF's program areas.
Register today for “The Path to Good Jobs: Research, Practice, and Policy”
Monday, March 23, 2026 11amCT - 12pmCT
Register Here: https://tinyurl.com/y852xxk7
