Rand Quinn joined Education Pioneers in the Bay Area in the summer of 2006. Rand was a research intern at Springboard Schools, a nonprofit network of educators committed to raising student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap. He conducted a study of school-level practices that lead to sustained academic improvement over time. This included interviewing California elementary school principals, conducting a review of relevant literatures, analyzing data, and writing up research findings.

Rand began his career as a community organizer and policy analyst working on welfare rights and public benefits issues. Among his prior positions, Rand was the executive director of Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN) and the public policy director of the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NCCIR).