Anila Asghar Author

Ellie Drago-Severson is a Professor of Education Leadership and Adult Learning & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. As a developmental psychologist, her work is inspired by the idea that schools must be places where adults and children can grow. She is dedicated to creating the conditions to achieve this and to helping leaders and educators of all kinds to do the same on behalf of supporting adults and youth. Ellie’s work builds bridges between research and practice by supporting teachers, principals, superintendents and other school and district leaders in their professional and personal development and growth. Ellie is author of four recent books: Becoming Adult Learners: Principles and Practices for Effective Development (Teachers College Press, 2004), Helping Teachers Learn: Principal Leadership for Adult Growth and Development (Corwin Press, 2004), Leading Adult Learning: Supporting Adult Development in our Schools (Corwin/Sage, 2009), and Helping Educators Grow: Practices and Strategies for Supporting Leadership Development (Harvard Education Press, 2012). Learning Forward (formerly The National Staff Development Council, NSDC) awarded the Outstanding Staff Development Book of the Year in 2004 to Helping Teachers Learn, and selected Leading Adult Learning as their book for the Fall 2009. Ellie teaches, conducts research and consults to leaders and organizations on professional and personal growth and learning, leadership that supports principal, faculty and school development, capacity building, leadership development, coaching, qualitative research, and mentoring K–12 schools, university contexts, and ABE/ESOL contexts. She is also an internationally certified developmental coach who works with principals, assistant principals, district leaders, and teachers to build internal capacity and achieve goals. She served as lead researcher on the Adult Development Team of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) at Harvard University and as teacher, program designer, program director, and currently as consultant, and professional developer in a variety of educational contexts including K-12 schools, higher education, adult education centers, and ABE/ESOL programs (domestically and internationally). Her work explores the promise of practices that support adult development, leadership development, and capacity building, within schools, districts and across systems. Ellie’s work has been recognized by and supported with awards from the Spencer Foundation, the Klingenstein Foundation, and Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) where she served as Lecturer on Education for eight years. While serving at Harvard, Ellie was awarded the 2005 Morningstar Award for Excellence in Teaching. Most recently, she received three outstanding teaching awards from Teachers College. She has earned degrees from Long Island University (BA) and Harvard University (EdM, EdD and Post-Doctoral Fellowship). Ellie grew up in the Bronx, New York and lives in New York City. Jessica Blum-DeStefano is an advanced doctoral student in Education Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University who is exploring how at-risk high school students in alternative education settings understand and describe good teaching. Jessica was awarded a research fellowship by the Teachers College Office of Policy and Research to support her work, and has worked closely with Ellie over the past five years as a research assistant, teaching fellow and co-instructor. She is co-authoring Learning and Learning for Growth (Corwin/Sage, 2013). Anila Asghar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her research and teaching encompass a number of interconnected areas: cognitive and emotional development; curriculum development; science pedagogy; teacher education; and educational leadership in a variety of international settings. She earned her doctorate from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and carried out her postdoctoral research at McGill University. She also received an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and an M.A. in Science Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.