Deeper Learning 2023

Dr. Emily Virtue is an Assistant Professor of Educational Research  and the Educational Leadership program director at Western Carolina University. Before joining the faculty in the College of Education and Allied Professions, Dr. Virtue served as a lecturer in the English department and as the Retention and Completion Advisor in the Division of Student Success at WCU. Dr. Virtue has held various student affairs positions at different institutions of higher education and has been responsible for student wellness, activities, leadership development, retention, and community engagement. Her previous publications focus on pedagogical practices, supporting students in academic difficulty, and addressing systems that prevent student success in higher education. Her recent research with colleagues Drs. Hinnant-Crawford and Bergeron centers on asset-based pedagogical practices in middle and secondary settings.


Liz Bergeron joined New Tech Network in 2016 and serves as the Managing Director of Strategy, Research and Thought Leadership. Liz’s experience includes working closely with ministries of education internationally, US public school districts, and nonprofits conceptualizing and conducting research to inform practice, policy, strategy, and operations. Prior to joining NTN Liz was an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse where she taught pre-service teachers. Previous professional experiences also include her time as the Global Research Manager for the International Baccalaureate (IB) organization where she provided management and oversight for the Program Impact Department.  Recent research collaborations include working with Drs. Hinnant-Crawford and Virtue operationalizing good teaching, warmth & demand, and criticality surfaced from Gay (2000), Hammond (2014), Hilliard, Irvine (1990/1998), Ladson-Billings (1995/1998/2007/2009), and Muhammad (2020). 


Brandi Hinnant-Crawford is a self-described motherscholar, critical pragmatist, liberation theologian, and aspiring scholar-activist. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University.  Crawford’s scholarship focuses on equity and inclusion for marginalized students across the P-20 pipeline as well as how research, particularly improvement science, can be leveraged as methodological tools to catalyze just outcomes.  Her work has been published in diverse venues such as Black Liberation Theology, Urban Education, the International Journal of Teacher Leadership, and the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning.  In her 2020 book, Improvement Science in Education: A Primer, she reconceptualizes improvement by centering equity and justice as the purpose of improvement.  
Brandi holds a doctorate in philosophy from Emory University in Educational Studies, a master’s degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, and bachelor’s degrees in English (with teacher licensure) and Communication (media concentration) from North Carolina State University. From the time she first stepped foot in the classroom in the rural south to working in central office in the urban north to conducting research across the county, she has been committed to providing equitable opportunities to learn for all children.  While she loves research and teaching, her first priority is being the mother of her ten-year-old twins, Elizabeth Freedom and Elijah Justice Crawford.