For over two decades, Cynthia Greenleaf has helped students become more successful readers and writers.

As Co-Director of the Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI) at WestEd, Greenleaf has helped increase access to higher-level literacy learning for secondary and college students, particularly those who have not yet met their academic potential.

Greenleaf directs the research program of SLI and has conducted multiple studies of the impact of Reading Apprenticeship professional development on student learning. This includes randomized controlled studies of Reading Apprenticeship in high school biology and U.S. history teaching and learning. These studies were funded by the National Science Foundation and the Institute of Education Sciences.

In 2010, due in part to these rigorous research studies showing its effectiveness, Reading Apprenticeship scored highest of all Investing in Innovation (i3) grants in the validation category for "scaling up" a proven educational approach. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, this five-year effort, known as RAISE, is supporting large-scale dissemination of Reading Apprenticeship disciplinary literacy professional development.

RAISE will reach more than 2,500 high school content teachers and over 400,000 students in five states (California, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Utah). Greenleaf serves as Co-Manager of this initiative.

SLI is a significant partner in the Institute of Education Sciences' READi (Reading, Evidence, and Argumentation in Disciplinary Instruction) research initiative. This five-year project is developing instructional strategies, technology, curricula, teacher professional development, and assessment to increase the reading comprehension of students in grades 6-12. Greenleaf serves as Co-Principal Investigator and is co-leading the project’s Intervention Development Studies.

Greenleaf has contributed to several books on literacy and education, including Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms, Education Policy and Practice: Bridging the Divide, The Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research, Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction, Improving Reading Achievement through Professional Development, and Bridging the Literacy Achievement Gap Grades 4 – 12.

She has co-authored numerous articles appearing in such publications as the American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Harvard Educational Review, Phi Delta Kappan and Science.

Greenleaf has received many awards and honors for her work in language and literacy teaching, including Best Dissertation Award from Division G of the American Educational Research Association; Presidential Grant for School Improvement Dissertation Award from the University of California, Berkeley; and Promising Researcher Award from the National Council of Teachers of English.

She received a PhD and MA in language and literacy education from the University of California, Berkeley; and a BA in linguistics from the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated magna cum laude.