Staff >> Andrea Quinn

Andrea Quinn

Education Advisor

Advisory Council · Education Committee

“Compassion” would be the one word describing the reason for my metamorphosis from Christian to atheist. I remember as a child crying brokenheartedly after watching a dingo family slowly starve to death on a nature show. I later asked my mom why God would allow something terrible like this to happen, for which she of course had no answer. Because my mother raised me to be empathetic (often to a fault), I continued to notice injustices to both humans and other animals and that, combined with a strong interest in science, helped to cement my disbelief in gods and devils. Finding out from comparative mythologists that the Jesus story closely follows the tales of dozens of other “saviors” of history, including Mithras and Horus, and thinking about the torture and genocide of millions by people using their Bibles to justify their atrocities, brought about my evolution into a feisty freethinker. I came about being a public school teacher for the last 12 years through a rather circuitous route, which has also helped to prepare me for the position of Education Policy Advisor. As a former journalist, my articles have been on educational, medical and scientific topics. As a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and a supporter of media reform, I understand how media consolidation is contaminating our democracy since six large corporations control 80% of the prime time news flow. My work as a legislative aide helped me to understand and navigate the legislative process. Being a research assistant taught me organization in handling databases and voluminous quantities of research. I have a B.S. degree in biology, a B.A. in journalism and a M.S. in Education with a certification in special education.