American Institutes for Research

Ellen Cushing is deputy director for the College and Career Readiness and Success Center and a senior research and policy analyst at AIR. Cushing has over ten years of experience providing technical assistance support at the national, state, and local level on various education reforms including college and career readiness, educator evaluation, and educator talent management. Currently, Cushing leads several state-based technical assistance efforts focused on developing college- and career-readiness for all students. This work includes supporting states in designing and implementing work-based learning and apprenticeship programs, aligning state Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Carl D. Perkins Act, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) policies and programs and integrating academic, technical, and employability skills in PK-16 initiatives.

Previously, Cushing was the deputy director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation College Ready Integration Portfolio Evaluation. Through this work, she led a team in the formative evaluation of state policies and practices related to integrating Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluation. Prior to joining the CCRS Center team, Cushing served as the project manager and technical assistance lead for the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and provided project expertise for supporting the implementation of federal and state educator evaluation policies, including student learning objectives.