Michael Weinberg, Ed.D.
Founder, Bema Consulting
View LinkedIn profile →- Ed.D., Educational Leadership & Policy — University of New Mexico
- M.Ed., Harvard Graduate School of Education
- B.A., Dartmouth College, magna cum laude
- Award: National Legislative Program Evaluation Society, Excellence in Evaluation
- Award: Greater ABQ Chamber of Commerce, Excellence in Education, 2019
- Featured speaker: Greater ABQ Chamber of Commerce Board, New Mexico Public Health Association, New Mexico State Bar, Grantmakers for Education
Michael's path into evaluation and policy work started in the classroom — teaching elementary grades, then coaching literacy instruction, before moving into school leadership as a principal at a high-poverty PreK-8 school in New Mexico.
That on-the-ground experience shaped how he later approached public finance: as Program Evaluation Manager for the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, where he used qualitative and quantitative methods to inform decisions across the state's multi-billion-dollar annual budget, and helped the evaluation unit earn national recognition for its body of work.
Public budgets and program design aren't abstractions — they're the difference between a family that gets support and one that falls through the cracks.
As Senior Policy Officer at the Thornburg Foundation, Michael helped lead a shift toward focused, long-term philanthropy in early childhood and K-12 education — work later featured by Exponent Philanthropy as a case study in catalytic, policy-oriented grantmaking.
He currently serves as Executive Director of Government Relations for New Mexico's largest private employer, shaping healthcare policy strategy across a nine-hospital integrated system.
Bema Consulting draws on this full arc — classroom to capitol to boardroom — to help clients make decisions that hold up under scrutiny and translate into real system change. Select engagements are conducted in partnership with Catherine Dry.