Shannon Davidson
(she/her/hers)
Leader, Applied Research & Equitable Evaluation
Shannon is passionate about connecting educators with strategies to prepare students for success in learning and in life. She is inspired when she sees schools and other learning environments supporting a student’s sense of belonging and providing accessible resources needed to help students learn and grow.
Shannon is also dedicated to helping partners translate data into meaningful action for systems-level change, using research as a tool to promote learning and continuous improvement. To that end, she always seek opportunities to complement research and evaluation work with coaching and technical assistance, and values opportunities to continuously engage with new ideas and people.
Shannon started out as a classroom educator, teaching high school English in California. As her path transitioned from teaching to research and evaluation, she has been grateful to gain experience along the way in both global and local education discourse and practice. In college, her dissertation focused on an exploration of mental health education policies and practices in China and was funded by a Fulbright-Hays fellowship. Outside of work, she serves on the Regional Advisory Board for Playworks Pacific Northwest and says she “really loves their model,” which is based on the power of play to help youth develop social and emotional competencies, learn to resolve conflicts, and stay healthy.
Education
- Ph.D., International & Comparative Education, Stanford University
- M.A., International & Comparative Education, Stanford University
- B.A., English, Pomona College
A fictional character I identify with is...
Gudetama the lazy egg (sometimes).
I could talk for hours about...
Native plants and mushrooms. The Pacific Northwest is full of natural wonders!
If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be...
Honestly, I'd stay in Portland, but I'd take extended seasonal trips to follow good weather.
