Dana Grayson

Overview

Dana Grayson is a national expert in teacher workforce issues, with a focus on partnering with states and districts to engage in data-driven decision-making to design, implement, improve, and scale evidence-based policies and practices that address critical workforce challenges. Grayson brings 15 years of experience in leading large-scale contracts and centers to attract, prepare, support, and sustain a well-prepared, effective, and diverse educator workforce, building on a career that began as a public school teacher.

Grayson’s recent projects include facilitating California’s State Educator Workforce Collaborative, a cross-agency collaborative focused on improving access to and affordability of clinically rich preparation pathways and establishing a sustainable mechanism for statewide strategic workforce planning; a Region 2 Comprehensive Center project supporting the New York State Education Department in establishing the vision and implementation plans for educator workforce data dashboards to inform policy, practice, and resource investments; serving as an industry intermediary for the U.S. Department of Labor to support states and their partners in designing, launching, and sustaining Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Programs; and piloting a regional teacher workforce strategic planning effort to strengthen the bilingual teacher workforce in California’s Central Valley. 

Before joining WestEd, Grayson served on the leadership team of three multimillion-dollar federal technical assistance centers at Insight Policy Research and the American Institutes for Research, including serving as the director of the Student Engagement and Attendance Center and the deputy of the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and the State Support Network. In these roles, she oversaw national technical assistance portfolios focused on promoting the use of evidence to improve teacher, school, and learner outcomes and improve equitable access to educators. Grayson began her career as a teacher and dean of students in New York City public schools and has permanent K–6 teaching certification from New York State. 

Education

• MA, sociology of education/education policy, New York University 
• MS, elementary education, Pace University 
• BA, journalism, New York University 

Select Publications

Beatson, C., (Chambers) Grayson, D., Mottesi, G., Rasberry, M., & Zammith, J. (2023). The state’s role in addressing teacher shortages today to sustain the profession in the future. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/states-role-in-addressing-teacher-shortages/  

Chambers, D., & Hoang, T. (2022). Special issues brief: How Region 2 states are leveraging innovative strategies to address critical shortages of education personnel. Washington, DC: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/region-2-cc-addresses-education-personnel-shortages-brief/  

Chambers, D., Krausen, K., & Willis, J. (2021). Adapting a cardinal rule of finance: Five strategies for using one-time federal funding on school staffing. Washington, DC: WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resources/five-strategies-for-using-one-time-federal-funding-on-school-staffing-policy-brief/  

Chambers, D., Scala, J., & English, D. (2020). Promising practices brief: Improving student engagement and attendance during COVID-19 school closures. Insight Policy Research. https://charterschoolcenter.ed.gov/sites/default/files/upload/reports/NSAES-COVID19-Whitepaper-Final-508.pdf  

Clifford, M., Chambers, D., Lemke, M., Suk Yoon, K., & Wan, Y. (2016). Principal talent management according to the evidence: A review of the literature. The George W. Bush Institute. https://www.air.org/resource/report/principal-talent-management-according-evidence-review-literature. 

Clifford, M., Lemke, M., Chambers, D., & Meyer, C. (2016). A framework for principal talent management. The George W. Bush Institute. http://gwbcenter.imgix.net/Resources/gwbi-framework-principal-talent-mgmt.pdf  

Garcia, A., & Grayson, D. (2025). How educator preparation programs are navigating a shifting funding landscape. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/blog/how-educator-preparation-programs-are-navigating-a-shifting-funding-landscape/  

Rasberry, M., & Grayson, D. (2024). Improving access and affordability of high-quality teacher preparation. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resource/improving-access-and-affordability-of-high-quality-teacher-preparation/   

White, M., Grayson, D., Caparas, R., & Alcalá, L. (2025). Strengthening California’s teacher workforce: Toward a statewide strategic framework. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/resource/strengthening-californias-teacher-workforce/  

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

Commissioner, Alexandria Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission (2019–22)

Co-Chair, Alexandria City Public Schools Collaborative Committee (2019–20)

Founders Fellowship for Graduate Study, New York University

AmeriCorps Education Award, NYC Teaching Fellows

New York City Teaching Fellowship, The New Teacher Project

Recent Media Appearances

How Educator Preparation Programs are Navigating A Shifting Funding Landscape, New America, May 8, 2025

Number of California teaching credentials increases after two-year slump, EdSource, April 28, 2025

End of federal grants could worsen teacher shortages, EdSource, April 14, 2025