# Research Team ## Leadership [### Susan Moore Johnson ](/people/susan-moore-johnson) [susan\_moore\_johnson@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:susan_moore_johnson@gse.harvard.edu)Director & Principal Investigator Dr. Johnson is the Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She studies and teaches about teacher policy, organizational change, and administrative practice. A former high school teacher and... ![Susan Moore-Johnson](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-02/susan-moore-johnson.jpg?itok=GhqHC0zO) ## Research Affiliates [### Jill Harrison Berg ](/people/jill-harrison-berg) Research Affiliate Jill Harrison Berg is principal consultant at Jill Harrison Berg Consulting, LLC. She is a leadership coach, school improvement consultant and researcher committed to maximizing the leadership potential of teachers. Dr. Berg is the author of Leading in... ![Dr. Jill Harrison Berg](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/jhberg_color-headshot_2.jpg?itok=i9fQ4JoR) [### Sarah Birkeland ](/people/sarah-birkeland) Research Affiliate Dr. Sarah Birkeland founded Helix Learning Partners ( helixlearningpartners.com ) to support high-quality implementation of education initiatives through developmental program evaluation and strategy consulting. She is a certified professional coach with... ![Dr. Sarah Birkeland](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/sarah_birkeland_3.jpg?itok=6SVd_OLB) [### Megin Charner-Laird ](/people/megin-charner-laird) Research Affiliate Megin Charner-Laird is a professor in the McKeown School of Education at Salem State University. She co-directs the programs in educational leadership and the Center for Educational Leadership at the school. After graduating from Swarthmore College, she... ![Megin Charner-Laird](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/MCL%20headshot%5B52%5D%20copy.jpeg?itok=Ti2BkrHi) [### Morgaen L Donaldson ](/people/morgaen-l-donaldson) Research Affiliate Morgaen L Donaldson is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut . A former high school teacher, and founding faculty member of the Boston Arts Academy, Donaldson earned an AB at Princeton University and an EdM and EdD from the Harvard... ![Morgaen L Donaldson](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/donaldson.jpeg?itok=kwil73mZ) [### Sarah E Fiarman ](/people/sarah-e-fiarman)Research Affiliate Sarah E. Fiarman consults with schools, districts, and non-profits to build powerful learning communities where all students excel. A former principal and National Board Certified Teacher, Sarah has written and consulted about school leadership... ![Sara E Fiarman](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/sarah_fiarman.jpg?itok=g1Y31vIR) [### Susan M Kardos ](/people/susan-m-kardos) Research Affiliate Susan Kardos is the inaugural CEO of the Institute for Curriculum Services , which focuses on improving the accuracy of K-12 education on Judaism and Jewish history in US schools. She began her career as a middle school teacher in independent schools and... ![Susan M. Kardos](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Susan%20Headshot%20Close%20Up%20Cropped%20%281128%20x%202192%20px%29%20jpg%5B55%5D.jpg?itok=0sOg5L43) [### David Kauffman ](/people/david-kauffman)Research Affiliate David Kauffman has worked as a public school teacher and administrator, school leadership consultant, and educational policy researcher. He opened and is currently the principal of Lance Corporal Nicholas S. Perez Elementary School in Austin, Texas, where... ![David Kauffman](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/davidk.jpeg?itok=A711_3fC) [### Cheryl L. Kirkpatrick ](/people/Cheryl_L_Kirkpatrick) Cheryl is a district-level public school administrator. She is currently the Director of Personnel and Professional Learning for the Chelmsford Public Schools in Chelmsford, MA. Prior to this she served as the Coordinator of Leadership Development in the... person [### Matthew Kraft ](/people/matt-kraft) Research Affiliate Matthew Kraft is a Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research and teaching interests include the economics of education, education policy analysis, and... ![Matthew Kraft](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/matt_kraft_photo.jpeg?itok=6ErurTW4) [### Edward Liu ](/people/edward-liu) Research Affiliate Ed Liu is the Chief Improvement Officer of Boston Plan for Excellence, which runs the Boston Teacher Residency, one of the pioneers of the teacher residency model in the early 2000s, and operates two Boston public schools. Prior to BPE, Dr. Liu was... ![Edward Liu](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Liu%20Headshot%20medium_0.jpeg?itok=VIv1PqwU) [### William H Marinell ](/people/william-h-marinell) Research Afiiliate Will Marinell is a high school English teacher at Newton North High School in Newton, MA. In addition to his experience as a teacher, he has held senior positions in applied education research at Harvard University (Director of Analytics, Center for... ![Will Marinell](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Will.Marinell.IMG_7050.jpeg?itok=H9IJ6G8a) [### Mindy S Munger ](/people/mindy-s-munger)Research Affiliate Mindy received her doctorate in Education Policy Leadership and Instructional Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A former middle school math teacher, she also served as Education Policy Advisor to Governor Jim Edgar of Illinois from... ![Mindy S Munger](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/munger.jpeg?itok=eCR5-8Eo) [### Monica Ng ](/people/monica-ng) Research Affiliate Monica Ng is Senior Director at Instruction Partners and an expert for the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Children’s Justice. She researches and designs interventions in middle school math that support the identity and belonging of Black and... ![Monica Ng](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/Monica%20Ng.jpg?h=adec5638&itok=XXyvn0UF) [### John P Papay ](/people/john-p-papay) [john\_papay@brown.edu](mailto:john_papay@brown.edu)Research Affiliate John P. Papay is an Associate Professor of Education and Economics at Brown University. His research focuses on teacher policy, the economics of education, and teacher labor markets. He has published on teacher professional learning, teacher improvement... ![John P Papay](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/papay.jpeg?itok=a0HYgyZP) [### Heather Peske ](/people/heather-peske) Research Affiliate In 2022, Dr. Heather Peske became President of the National Council on Teacher Quality. She is driven by the goal that all children in our nation have access to an effective and diverse teacher workforce. Prior to joining NCTQ she was Senior Associate... ![Heather Pesks](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/Heather-Peske%20headshot_0.jpeg?itok=MMAx53Dj) [### Emily Kalejs Qazilbash ](/people/emily-kalejs-qazilbash) [Emily\_Qazilbash@mail.harvard.edu](mailto:Emily_Qazilbash@mail.harvard.edu)Research Affiliate Emily Kalejs Qazilbash, EdD, is a Professor of Practice of Education at Brown University and an affiliate faculty member at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown. Emily conducts research on teacher retention, teacher career trajectories... ![EMQ Photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/EMQphoto_%23150%5B48%5D.jpg?itok=4fE65GG0) [### Stefanie Reinhorn ](/people/stefanie-reinhorn) Research Affiliate Stefanie Reinhorn is the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Public Schools of Northborough and Southborough in Massachusetts. She completed her doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Education Policy, Leadership... ![Stefanie Reinhorn](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/2020_stef_0603%20%282%29%5B52%5D.jpg?itok=nGD5A5Vh) [### Nicole S Simon ](/people/nicole-simon) Research Affiliate Nicole completed her doctorate in Culture, Communities and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Before HGSE, she served as the Director of Early College Awareness Programs and Hiring Committee Chair at a new, small, public high school in... ![Nicole Simon](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/nicole_simon_headshot_3_2019_0.jpg?itok=AjBOEesk) [### Jennifer L Steele ](/people/jennifer-l-steele)Research Affiliate Jennifer L. Steele is an Associate Professor of Education at American University, where she studies education policy and the economics of education. Her recent work, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, has examined the causal effects of dual... ![Jennifer L Steele](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/gse-projectngt/files/steele.jpeg?itok=oy9ObyRx) [### Stacy Agee Szczesiul ](/people/stacy-agee-szczesiul) [stacy\_szczesiul@uml.edu](mailto:stacy_szczesiul@uml.edu)Research Affiliate Stacy Szczesiul is the Associate Dean of Online Education, Accreditation & Licensing for the College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Much of her work is dedicated to building a strong, diverse... ![Stacy Szczesiul](/sites/g/files/omnuum4506/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/Szczesiul.jpeg?itok=maZoi1vo)