Sabrina W. M. Laine is Chief Program Officer at WestEd, where she has primary responsibility and oversight for more than 600 staff leading the development, implementation, and management of the organization’s programmatic work.
Laine has a diverse background in educational policy research and has worked for many years to ensure that policies and programs are in place that enable all children to have access to highly qualified teachers and leaders. She has spearheaded efforts to contribute to policy research and resource development with an emphasis on managing and supporting educator talent, including recruitment, compensation, evaluation, distribution, and professional development.
Prior to joining WestEd, Laine served as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). She also served as Interim Director of AIR’s flagship Education Program, where she managed a team of more than 500 researchers, policy analysts, and technical assistance providers focused on critical education reform issues.
Laine previously served as principal investigator on multiple technical assistance initiatives focused on educator quality and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, including the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and the Center for Educator Compensation Reform.
She is the primary author of Improving Teacher Quality: A Guide for Education Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2011) and contributing author on Everyone at the Table: Engaging Teachers in Evaluation Reform (Jossey-Bass, 2013).
Laine presents frequently on topics ranging from ensuring teacher effectiveness to equitable teacher distribution.
She received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, a master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam, and a PhD in educational leadership and policy studies from Indiana University.