Dr. Lanise Stevenson: A Visionary Education Leader

Dr. Lanise Stevenson’s journey as an education leader is both personal and profound. Growing up as a Gifted and Talented student in Baltimore City, she quickly realized that access to quality education was not equal for all. Dr. Stevenson experienced firsthand the disparities in educational opportunities, and her own aspirations were challenged by a negative experience with a high school math teacher, which led her GPA to fall from a 4.0 to a 2.1. Feeling isolated and undervalued, she made a powerful promise to herself: she would make a difference in education, ensuring every student could feel seen, heard, and supported. This commitment to equity and belonging has become her life’s work.

Dr. Stevenson’s career in education began after she transitioned from genetic engineering research to teaching high school science. She taught Meteorology, Biology, Earth Space Systems, Genetics, and Physics to a highly diverse student body that included advanced learners, students with special needs, English language learners, and students who had faced exclusion from traditional school settings. Dr. Stevenson fostered an environment where her students felt connected and challenged, often for the first time. Her classroom became a place where students felt safe, respected, and understood, sparking her deeper interest in creating inclusive learning environments.

Building on her success in the classroom, Dr. Stevenson moved into education leadership roles, serving as a curriculum writer, STEM specialist, and district leader. She spearheaded initiatives that redefined curriculum standards and developed culturally responsive approaches to teaching. Her leadership in STEM led to the creation of interdisciplinary programs that strengthened students' academic and socio-emotional skills and prepared them for success beyond the classroom. As an advocate for equity in education, she crafted policies and programs to close achievement gaps, increase student belonging, and provide meaningful engagement opportunities for students, families, and communities.

Dr. Stevenson’s experiences inspired her to study the factors that contribute to belonging and engagement within education systems. She has led seven mid- to large-scale studies across multiple states, including Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts, focusing on belonging, family engagement, early childhood readiness, and transformational leadership. Her research uncovered critical insights, including a groundbreaking finding that demonstrated a statistically significant difference in belonging perceptions between marginalized students and their peers. These findings have informed policies and best practices, enabling schools to build supportive and inclusive environments for all stakeholders.

Understanding that lasting change requires comprehensive, system-wide efforts, Dr. Stevenson developed a five-year training program for school districts to foster cultural responsiveness among leaders, teachers, staff, students, and families. With over 200 hours of professional learning content, she has equipped school communities with tools to embrace and implement culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) practices. She is currently leading an innovative curriculum overhaul in which teacher leaders, through a crowd-designed approach, develop lesson sequences that reflect their professional learning and are shared across the district.

Dr. Stevenson is an influential voice in education, presenting her research to university leaders including the Inheritance Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Concern, and Transform Mid-Atlantic, as well as at national conferences, including the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP), American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA), and the Association of Latino Administrators & Supervisors (ALAS). She is a member of the American Education Research Association and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, where she actively contributes to discussions on education reform and policy. In 2024, she served as the keynote speaker for the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Student Research Conference, highlighting her role as a thought leader in emerging education and social science research.

Dr. Lanise Stevenson’s legacy as an education leader is one of transformative impact, academic rigor, and deep compassion for students and communities. She invites educators, policymakers, and organizational leaders to connect with her to explore how her expertise can support and inspire lasting, meaningful change in your educational environments. Reach out to learn how Dr. Stevenson’s insights and strategies can help foster belonging, engagement, and success for all members of your community.