Gail R. Meister, Ph.D.

Dr. Meister joined Foundations in 1998.  She currently manages the department that is responsible for formalizing what Foundations is learning from its work to develop new tools and services in conjunction with other departments, comprehensive technical assistance to charter school founding groups, coaching and mentoring programs, and grants administration for Foundations’ internal and external clients.  She earned her A.B. degree with distinction at Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Yale University.  Prior to earning her doctorate in educational policy at Stanford University, her experience includes teaching at the middle and high school levels in suburban and rural schools, teaching adults in an urban setting, coordinating staff development in a large urban district, planning in a state department of education, and administering in a liberal arts college.  Her subsequent experience includes a decade as senior research and evaluation associate at Research for Better Schools, then the mid-Atlantic regional educational laboratory.  There she provided technical assistance to state departments of education and local school systems, including managing a rural school district collaborative for social services integration in Maryland. 

Dr. Meister is the author of various studies and other publications, and is the developer of electronic tools for school improvement.  Selected publications include Report on Philadelphia Charter Schools:  Facing Challenges, Forging Solutions; “Theories of Change for Community Interventions in Education” in Community Change:  Theories, Practice, and Evidence by the Aspen Institute’s Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families; and Help for New Teachers:  Developmental Practices That Work for Research for Better Schools.  The electronic tools include DVDs such as Coaching Is Key; an interactive, searchable CD-ROM directory called Philadelphia Charter Schools Profiles 1999-2000; and the LIVE GUIDE, an annotated person-to-person directory on interactive CD-ROM for the Institute for Research and Reform in Education.