Anya Grottel-Brown

Anya Grottel-Brown is Vice President of Communications and Media at Teach Plus. Anya Grottel-Brown (she/her) leads Teach Plus' communications effort, shaping the brand communications and media strategy at the national level and regionally across 11 states. She oversees the media engagement around Teach Plus teacher leadership programs and impact, and works with Teach Plus teachers nationwide to amplify their voices through op-eds and stories in the media. Anya helms the development and production of a comprehensive portfolio of Teach Plus products, including policy briefs and research reports; op-eds; newsblast and blog; website; and social media. Prior to joining Teach Plus in 2014, Anya was a member of the executive team at two public relations agencies specializing in education and non-profit communications. Anya's work in education communications has been recognized with two PR News NonProfit PR Awards for Best Media Relations and one of the year's Best Marketing Campaign and Best Event PR Awards. A seasoned media trainer, Anya has successfully prepared hundreds of teachers nationwide to work with the press. Her how-to article "The Reluctant Spokesperson," published in the PRNews Media Training Guidebook, offers a roadmap for turning reluctant spokespeople into an audience invested in working with the press. Born in Russia, Anya holds an Honors BA in East Asian Studies from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She spent five years in Japan, where she taught English and reported for a regional newspaper. Anya's cultural commentary was subsequently published in Meet Japan, a quarterly magazine of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Anya has traveled extensively through a dozen countries and has once gone around the world. A long-time New Yorker, she now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.