Dena D. Slanda, Ph.D., is a senior technical assistance consultant at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and serves as a subject matter expert with the Region 9 Comprehensive Center (R9CC). Slanda’s work at AIR includes working with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders on projects related to diversifying the workforce and successful teacher talent management. Slanda also provides professional development, onsite coaching, and serves as a content area expert in asynchronous module development for local education agencies (LEAs) and schools in Alabama, Georgia, and Connecticut.
Slanda has worked in education for more than thirteen years, serving as a public-school teacher, faculty member in higher education, and co-principal investigator of several federally funded grants from the US Department of Education. She has substantial knowledge and experience working with Title I schools and transformation initiatives. Slanda has more than seven years of experience supporting high-need districts with instructional coaching, equity in education, literacy initiatives, special education, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and attracting, preparing, and retaining special education teachers in high-need settings. Slanda earned her Ph.D. in Exceptional Student Education from the University of Central Florida.