Supreet Anand, Ph.D., Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director of Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA). Dr. Anand has been working in the field of education for more than 25 years. As the deputy director for OELA, she informs policy decisions on ELs and supervises OELA’s role in disseminating information on educational research, practices and policies for ELs through the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA). Her work includes supervising the discretionary grant programs under Title III of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Dr. Anand has also supervised formula grant programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before joining the U.S. Department of Education, she served as the Title III Director for the Maryland State Department of Education and supervised the Title III program in Prince George’s County Public Schools. In addition, she taught English as a Second Language (grades K-12) for over 10 years in India and the United States.

Lisa Hsin (pronounced “shin”), Ph.D., is a developmental scientist and senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). She earned her Ph.D. in cognitive science from Johns Hopkins University and has over a decade of experience conducting research on language and literacy learning in a wide variety of bilingual children. Before joining AIR, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, working with Professor Catherine Snow. Dr. Hsin is a former Spanish teacher and lives in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, DC.

Jobi Lawrence, Ph.D., Synergy TA Liaison. Dr. Lawrence brings more than 25 years of experience in the field of education, including more than 5 years as a federal program director for Title III at the Iowa Department of Education. In her role as a Title III Director, she was responsible for providing TA and support in the development, implementation and assessment of services for EL programs at the state, regional and local levels. She provided oversight and monitoring support of federal and state programs, including funding and allocation of federal funds to subgrantees. She was also responsible for developing and managing contracts and requests for proposal for state EL allocations. Dr. Lawrence coordinated statewide capacity building and professional learning efforts to support educational personnel in the state, with the overarching goal of improving the achievement of ELs. She served in a leadership capacity on national and state-level advisory boards and committees to advocate for the needs of diverse learners and inform best practice, such as the National Council of State Title III Directors and the National Association for Bilingual Education. Dr. Lawrence also served as a senior researcher at NCELA. Dr. Lawrence was responsible for providing research and policy support to the center, overseeing research assistants to collect, coordinate and convey a broad range of research and resources in support of an inclusive, high-quality education for the nation’s ELs.