Dana Chambers is a project director with WestEd’s Resource Planning and Implementation team. Drawing on 18 years’ experience as a project leader, consultant, and teacher, Chambers partners with states and districts to engage in data-driven decision-making, implementation planning, and continuous improvement. She specializes in educator talent, school improvement, and student engagement and attendance.
In previous roles at Insight Policy Research and the American Institutes for Research, Chambers served on the leadership team of three multimillion-dollar federal technical assistance (TA) centers, overseeing portfolios of TA engagements, and facilitating multi-state learning collaboratives on a wide variety of education issues.
Chambers has also led numerous state-level projects to strengthen educator workforces, including supporting rural school districts in Maine to develop sustainable talent management systems, and working with the Texas Education Agency to develop a user-friendly toolkit for developing local educator equity plans.
In her community in Alexandria, Virginia, she is a thought partner for the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Learning Advisory team supporting pandemic recovery and reopening, co-chair for an ACPS stakeholder engagement committee for a capital improvement project, commissioner for Alexandria’s Children Youth and Families Commission, and treasurer of the Clover College Park Community Association.
Chambers 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. She earned her MA in the Sociology of Education from New York University, her MS in Teaching from Pace University, and her BA in Journalism from New York University.