Dr Linda Darling-Hammond has made it her life’s work to understand how children learn, how best to teach them, and how policy and practice can ensure all students have access to well-prepared educators.

Crucially, as President of the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), she’s made research easier for policymakers to grasp and use, making a difference in millions of students’ lives.

Starting out as a public school teacher in the US, Dr Darling-Hammond’s early research focused on addressing disparities in educational opportunities for low-income students after seeing first-hand how inequalities in school funding had a direct impact on student outcomes.

Since then, she’s worked with education and policy leaders across the US and more than 15 countries worldwide developing evidence-based teaching policies, supporting even the most marginalized students, and designing teacher-development programs.

In 2019, Dr Darling-Hammond and the LPI in conjunction with Bank Street Graduate School of Education launched EdPrepLab, a network connecting leading-edge preparation programs, school districts, researchers, and policymakers, working together to increase capacity and put evidence-based, student-centered, equitable teaching at the heart of policy.

Serving more than 25 teacher- and leader-preparation programs across 10 different US states, EdPrepLab is now set to continue strengthening educator preparation in the United States through increased research and wider policy initiatives.