Winsome Waite, PhD, is a Co-Founder and a Senior Advisor at GSoLEN. She started her work with the network from its inception in 2018 while working at the Alliance for Excellent Education.

Dr Waite is an experienced education practitioner who works at the intersection of practice, policy and research with a focus on applying science of learning and development to solving pressing challenges, particularly for children and youth.

She has led practitioner support activities to bridge federal policy and state policy to implementation efforts in school districts, schools, and communities in the U.S.  Dr. Waite has held several practitioner and leadership positions in school districts and in the national nonprofit sector. She has gained a diverse set of experiences and skills working in education and youth-related organizations such as The Opportunity Institute, The Forum for Youth Investment, The Alliance for Excellent Education, and American Institutes for Research, advancing research-based initiatives through federal, state, district, and philanthropic funding sources.

Throughout her career, Dr. Waite has managed large-scale projects in school improvement, state education systemic plan development, educator evaluation, and leadership development. She has partnered with state superintendents and commissioners, district superintendents, local school boards, and principals to design strategic plans and approaches, and has provided a wide range of technical assistance support to ensure effective and sustained implementation efforts. Dr. Waite also leads science of learning and development-related work with state advocacy partners focused on equity and social justice. Dr. Waite has also taught graduate school courses in curriculum leadership and content-area reading.

In addition to her advisory role at GSoLEN, she currently serves as an advisor to the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Alliance and the Adolescent Learning and Development Project (ALDP). She is also a member of the Board of Maryland READS, a state-based nonprofit concerned with the effective teaching of structured literacy using the Science of Reading.

Dr. Waite earned bachelor of arts degrees in elementary and early childhood education, a master’s degree in education in K–12 curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland., and a doctorate of philosophy degree in education leadership from Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Currently residing in Washington, DC, Dr. Waite continues to contribute to the field of education through her involvement in various initiatives and her participation in events related to the science of learning.