NEPC Experts in Maryland

Keith Gayler is currently an independent consultant. He was previously Program Director for Common Core State Standards at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), Lead Academic Policy Analyst for the Maryland State Department of Education, Director of Research for the Abell Foundation, and Associate Director of the Center on Education Policy. His writings and research have covered topics such as high-stakes testing; federal education policy including NCLB, IASA, the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration project, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers; special education in Baltimore City Public Schools; and developing and validating instruments to measure classroom instructional processes. His graduate work in education took place at Stanford University and Harvard University.

Email Keith Gayler at: kgayler@hotmail.com

Gail L. Sunderman, Ph.D., is co-founder and former director of the Maryland Equity Project at the University of Maryland, a research and policy center focused on access to educational opportunity in Maryland. Her research focuses on educational policy and politics, school reform, and the impact of policy on the educational opportunities for diverse students. Prior to joining University of Maryland, she directed the Mid-Atlantic Equity Center at The George Washington University where she spearheaded the development of the Equity Planning Tool, a research-based instrument designed to assist districts to assess for equity. At the Harvard Civil Rights Project (CRP), she was lead researcher on a five-year study examining the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and how this legislation influenced educational change in states and local school districts. In addition to her scholarly work, Sunderman has served as expert consultant on educational disparities for the U.S. Department of Justice and other organizations. She is a former Fulbright scholar to Afghanistan and received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.

Email Gail Sunderman at: glsunderman@yahoo.com