Maura O'Brien joined WestEd in 2000 and is a Senior Program Associate in the Burlington (VT) office of Learning Innovations at Wested where she works as a consultant, mentor, course instructor, and evaluator in the areas of inquiry-based, content rich science education, and formative assessment.

O'Brien has a long association with NSF-funded projects, including serving as co-director of the Continuous Assessment in Science Project (CASP); managing the Vermont Elementary Science Project, where she co-developed and implemented a model of professional development featuring inquiry-based science, continuous assessment, and sustained support; and serving as a research associate for the National Center for Improving Science Education, where she co-authored three of the center’s major reports. She also serves on evaluation teams for other NSF-funded projects, which have included Mother Goose Asks Why, Growing Science Inquiry, and Critical MASS.

O'Brien's background also includes supervising student teachers and teaching elementary science methods courses at the University of Vermont, and twelve years teaching science at the middle and secondary school levels. She serves on a number of advisory groups to improve science education and has been instrumental in the development of a vision for systemic change in the state of Vermont. In this capacity she has served as one of the principal investigators for Vermont’s Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI) in Science, Math, and Technology and the SSI's Professional Development Specialist.

O'Brien holds a BA in biology from Trinity College (VT) and an MEd with a specialization in environmental studies from the University of Vermont.