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US nonprofit · EIN 861596460 · Arlington, VAiSource and licenceOrganisation record IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EIN 861596460) - NTEE activity code, address.Board and officers IRS Form 990 annual filings, Part VII (directors, trustees, officers, key employees), read year by year to observe tenure.Latest return IRS Form 990 series e-file data - 990 for the year to 31 December 2025: assets, liabilities, staff, website, telephone, pay.Finances by year IRS Form 990 e-file data - total revenue and total expenses by tax year.Renewal outlook Computed by Governance Register from the observed filing history and filed revenue (us-approach-v4-clean). Not a statement that the organisation is recruiting.Deductibility IRS Publication 78 data (code PC), downloaded 18 October 2026.State registers Colorado Secretary of State (17 October 2026).Licence US Federal Government public domain.How we handle data

Defending Education

Donations deductible
Revenue
$6.6m
year to 31 December 2025
Expenses
$6.3m
year to 31 December 2025
Total assets
$1.3m
$234k liabilities
Net assets
$1.1m
assets less liabilities
Directors and trustees
5
4.0y av
Staff
24
employees, year to 31 December 2025
Left since last filing
0
no seats appear to have opened
Officers and senior staff
7
named in Part VII
How am I connected?

Defending Education's network

5 people2 organisationsi5 people and 2 organisations on this map.The large node is the subject of this page. Solid lines are what the register itself records (5). Violet dotted lines (2) are likely: the same full name sits on the current board of another organisation in the same register and region. Form 990 filings give names without a person identifier; SEC insider filings carry a CIK. It may be a different person.

The board

5 listediTime on the board is observed from the annual filings: the IRS files no appointment date, so the bar counts years from the first filing the person appears on - a lower bound, not a filed start date. Names are exactly as filed. The IRS publishes no person identifier, so this edition does not yet link a person across organisations in the tables. The network map shows same-name matches as likely links only, never as confirmed.Tenure and departures are observed across annual filings. Observed tenure is a lower bound - a member may have joined before the first year on record. The organisation reported 5 voting members of its governing body on its latest Form 990 Part VI, which matches the board listed here.
NameRole as filedSinceOn the board
Edward BlumTrustee2022
4 yrs
Garrett ExnerTrustee2022
4 yrs
Karol MarkowiczTrustee2024
2 yrs
Kenneth MarcusTreasurer2022
4 yrs
Mary HassonTrustee2022
4 yrs
Under 5 years5 to 6 years6 years or more

Officers and senior leadership

7 listediNamed in Part VII as officers, key employees or highest-compensated staff - not board members, shown for completeness.
NameTitle as filedOn the filings
Alexis NestorInvestigative Fellow2023
Andrew KozuskoDirector Development2024
Caroline MooreVice Presidentsince 2023
Erika SanziDirector Outreachsince 2022
Marissa FallonDirector of Advocacysince 2023
Michele ExnerSenior Advisor2024
Nicole NeilyPresident Secretarysince 2023

Pay and hours

year to 31 December 2025iFrom Part VII of the Form 990: compensation reported for each officer, director, trustee, key employee and highest-paid staff member, and the average hours a week they report. Most board members are unpaid; a blank means nothing was reported. Pay from related organisations is shown separately.
NameTitle as filedHours a weekPay from the organisationRelated organisationsOther
Nicole NeilyPresident Secretary40$390k$12k
Sarah PerryVP and Legal Fellow40$175k
Marissa FallonDirector of Advocacy40$154k$5k
Paul RunkoSr Dir of Strategic40$153k
Erika SanziSr Dir Communication40$150k
Andrew KozuskoDirector Development40$145k$4k
Philip WillardCfocoo40$37k
Kenneth MarcusTreasurer1$0
Karol MarkowiczTrustee1$0
Edward BlumTrustee1$0
Garrett ExnerTrustee1$0
Mary HassonTrustee1$0

Colorado roster

13 listediOfficers, directors and trustees from the latest filing with the Colorado Secretary of State (document 20253031490). Titles are as filed; some entries are registered agents or custodians of records rather than board members. Source: data.colorado.gov, public domain.
NameTitle as filed
Andrew KozuskoDirector of Development
Nicole K Neily
Garrett ExnerTrustee
Michele ExnerSenior Advisor
Nicole K NeilyPresident and Secretary
Mary HassonTrustee
Nicole K NeilyPresident
Kenneth MarcusTreasurer
Karol MarkowiczTrustee
Caroline MooreVice President
Erika SanziDirector of Outreach
Edward BlumTrustee
Marissa FallonDirector or Advocacy

About

Legal name
Defending Education
EIN
861596460
Address
4532 Lee Hwy Suite 119, Arlington, VA, 22207-3304
State
Virginia
Mission
National grassroots organization working to reclaim our schools from activists promoting harmful agendas. Through network and coalition building investigating reporting, litigation, and engagement on local, state, and national policies, we fight educational - Cont. sched O (as filed on the Form 990)
Activity (NTEE)
R20 Civil rights, social action and advocacy
IRS classification
501(c)03 (tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) where shown)
Classified purpose
Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy
Size band
5 (IRS master file code)
Formed
2021
Principal officer
Nicole Neily (as named on the Form 990)
IRS ruling date
1 July 2021
Status
Code 01 (unconditional exemption)
Form 990 filings on record
3, latest 2024
IRS Publication 78
PC (contributions deductible)

Most connected

Longest observed on the filings

≥4years on the filingsEdward Blum
≥4years on the filingsGarrett Exner
≥4years on the filingsKenneth Marcus
≥4years on the filingsMary Hasson

Latest return

year to 31 December 2025iFigures from the newest Form 990 or 990-EZ in the IRS e-file releases of 2025 and 2026, for the year ending 31 December 2025. US dollars, as filed.
Total assets
$1.3m
Total liabilities
$234k
Net assets or fund balances
$1.1m
Contributions and grants received
$6.6m
Program service revenue
$0
Grants and similar paid out
$15k
Employees
24

Filed finances

1 yeariTotals as filed on the IRS Form 990 (revenue and expenses), by tax year.
Tax yearTotal revenueTotal expensesSurplus or deficit
2024$5.3m$5m$360k

As filed on the IRS Form 990. US dollars.

State registration

2 entitiesiBusiness-entity registers published by US states. These records are matched to this organisation by name and state, not by EIN, and are labelled as likely matches. Street addresses are not shown.
Defending Education likely matchiMatched by exact name and state (and ZIP where shown). State registers do not publish EINs, so this is not a confirmed match. Source: Colorado Secretary of State (CDOS), business entities (data.colorado.gov 4ykn-tg5h). Licence: public domain. Data last fetched 18 October 2026.
State
Colorado
Entity type
nonprofit corporation
Status
Good Standing
Formed
6 March 2026
Registered agent
Northwest Registered Agent LLC (city and state not held)

This register does not publish officers or directors.

Defending Education likely matchiMatched by exact name and state (and ZIP where shown). State registers do not publish EINs, so this is not a confirmed match. Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, entity data (data.texas.gov 9cir-efmm). Licence not stated. Data last fetched 18 October 2026.
State
Texas
Entity type
nonprofit corporation
Status
Active
Formed
26 January 2026
Registered agent
Not stated

This register does not publish officers or directors.