Abigail Foley

Abigail M. Foley is a principal researcher in the Learning Supports program area. In this role, she serves as director of the federally funded Lead IDEA Center. Within AIR, she oversees professional learning and development for staff in the Human Services Division. Previously, she served as deputy director of the federally funded Lead for Literacy Center and has managed a range of projects and portfolios focused on multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), special education, high-dosage tutoring, and early literacy. She has extensive experience designing and delivering practice-based professional learning, providing management and team leadership for large and small projects, launching and managing the operations of new business lines (such as the MTSS Center and Fuchs Tutoring), and creating practitioner-friendly tools and resources based on research. She has also published numerous briefs and papers focused on practice-based educator preparation and implementation of the science of reading.

Prior to AIR, Foley was an elementary special education teacher. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Getting Things Done productivity trainer.