American Institutes for Research

Mariann Fedele-McLeod is a principal researcher at AIR and director of the adult learning practice area, involved in the field of adult education since 1991. In this role she is responsible for leading major national and state-based adult education initiatives with a focus on collaborative professional learning methods. She has directed multiple U.S. Department of Education-funded projects, and currently directs the Preparing Adult ELLs for Rigorous College and Career Readiness Standards project. She is the project director of the Nevada Adult Education Professional Development project, and senior advisor on a California Department of Education funded professional development project (CALPRO). In California she has led the CALPRO Professional Learning Communities initiative since 2008. 

From 2001 through 2008, Fedele-McLeod led professional development initiatives on behalf of the New York State Education Department as a staff developer and director of the New York City Regional Adult Education Network. As moderator of the National Institute for Literacy’s Technology and Literacy Community of Practice, a role she held from 2004 through 2008, she led a nationwide discussion of more than 700 adult education practitioners on research, policy, and practice related to the use of technology in adult education. She is a past chair of the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers, a national professional development advocacy organization.