Dr. Karen Gray-Adams is an educational psychologist with extensive experience in research and technical assistance, focusing on educational equity across K-16 settings. Dr. Gray-Adams brings over two decades of professional expertise in building capacity, strategic planning, and mixed-methods research. Dr. Gray-Adams has led numerous evaluations and technical assistance projects, including work with the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and initiatives targeting educator effectiveness.

Throughout her career, Dr. Gray-Adams has strived to create solutions for education policy and practice at various levels - local, regional, state, and national. She leads teams and works with partners to build capacity for better education outcomes. Her federal work included researching student support programs and monitoring states' implementation of federal education funding programs, ensuring compliance with legislation and regulations. Dr. Gray-Adams has advised on evaluation methods that respect different cultures, trained others on evaluation approaches, developed strategic action plans for preschool partnerships, and created resources to help address key education challenges in under-resourced communities. She has also facilitated community discussions on college access, designed surveys for behavioral health organizations, and provided coaching to help community groups improve their programs. Dr. Gray-Adams is based in the Washington, DC metro area.

Expertise

• Educational equity and culturally responsive pedagogy

• Mixed-methods research and evaluation design

• Capacity building and technical assistance frameworks

• Strategic planning

• Educator effectiveness and professional development

• Policy analysis and implementation

• Partner engagement and community-based approaches

• Educational technology integration and assessment