Jacqueline Leonard

Jacqueline Leonard, PhD, is an associate for MERAsocciates (MERA), LLC, an education research and evaluation consultancy based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. At MERA, Dr. Leonard has worked on a number of university-related evaluation projects that focus on broadening STEM participation. Dr. Leonard is also Professor Emeritus at the University of Wyoming where she served as professor of mathematics education (2016-2021) and director of the Science and Mathematics Teaching Center (2012-2016). Under her leadership, the University of Wyoming was awarded $5.2 million for five projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation that supported culturally responsive pedagogy for teachers and the development of computational thinking among underrepresented students in K-12 and afterschool settings. Dr. Leonard also worked as Associate Dean of the School of Education and Human Development (2010) and professor (2011-2012) at the University of Colorado Denver. She began her academic career at Temple University (1997-2010) after working as a teacher of mathematics for Prince George’s County Public Schools (1994-1997), Dallas Independent School District (1984-1993), and University City Schools in Missouri (1981-1983). Dr. Leonard is an affiliate member of the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) located in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She regularly presents at national conferences, such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Psychology of Mathematics Education North America (PMENA). Moreover, she has authored five books, 14 book chapters, and 50 journal articles. Her most recent publication, supported by the National Science Foundation, is a book released by Routledge in July 2022 entitled, Fostering Computational Thinking Among Underrepresented Students in STEM: Strategies for Supporting Racially Equitable Computing.