Richard Wenning

Advisory Board

Social Venture Partners, BeFoundation, Spread Music Now

A national expert on education policy design and implementation, Richard Wenning is executive director of BeFoundation, a family foundation devoted to dramatic improvement in the education of underserved children in Connecticut and the vitality of their communities.

He also leads SpreadMusicNow, a national fund that provides individual artist support, helping develop learning pathways for young musicians and expanding society’s engagement with music.  He has worked with federal, state, and local agencies and nonprofits for more than 25 years and is currently on the board of Hartford Performs, a community arts program.

His role at BeFoundation fostered his return to his home state of Connecticut after stints in Washington, D.C., and Colorado.  Much of his professional career has been focused on educational policy. As associate commissioner of the Colorado Department of Education, he led the design and implementation of Colorado’s nationally recognized accountability system. He has held positions with the Denver Public Schools and the Colorado League of Charter Schools.

In Washington, D.C., he led a consulting practice focused on education accountability and new school development and served as a senior advisor to the D.C. Public Schools during the takeover by a congressionally appointed board.  Prior to that, he was a staff member for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and a Senior Policy Analyst.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Ithaca College and an MPA from American University.  He resides in Redding and is a member of the SVP Connecticut Executive Board.  He also served as the Lead Partner of the CPEP engagement project.