Christine Pitts

(she, her, hers)

Senior Fellow

Christine is a leading policy expert and strategic partner who works with various stakeholders in the education sector, including national and state advocates, government agencies, and education service providers. She is driven by a passion for implementing education policy with integrity and ensuring that students and communities benefit from evidence-based practices.

As a former critic of standardized testing, she had a unique opportunity to study and advocate for improved assessment and accountability policy as a research scientist and policy advisor at NWEA in 2017. In her other roles as a district and nonprofit leader, Christine excels at building networks and coalitions that translate data into policies and policies into strategic plans that are effective, fair, and equitable.

Christine’s outstanding leadership and scholarly contributions have earned her numerous awards and recognitions, such as the 50CAN National Voices Fellowship, the PIE Executive Leadership Institute, the Emerging Education Policy Scholar from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and the Teacher Leader Award at East Carolina University. She is also a prolific researcher and writer who has published her work on the teacher workforce, student creativity, learning environments, global education, and education governance in prestigious academic journals such as Educational Researcher and Teachers College Record. Moreover, she is a frequent contributor to national media outlets, including The New York Times, ProPublica, PolitiFact, Chalkbeat, and The 74 Million, where she shares her insights and perspectives on various education issues. Through her diverse expertise and unwavering dedication, Christine continues to drive positive change and make a lasting impact across the realms of teaching, leadership, research, and policy.

Education

• Ph.D., Education Policy and Leadership, The University of Oregon
• M.A.Ed., Reading Education, East Carolina University
• B.S., Elementary Education, East Carolina University

A movie that would be greatly improved if it was made into a musical is...

Goodfellas

I could talk for hours about...

French food

I volunteer with...

Portland Backpack as Board President. We provide free food to Portland students each weekend.

My favorite baseball team is...

I know absolutely nothing about sports.