Jennifer D. Pierce, Ph.D.
Jennifer D. Pierce, Ph.D., is Senior Technical Assistant Consultant/Researcher for American
Institutes for Research (AIR) with experience working as a teacher, coach, and building- and district-
level leader. She also has served in higher education as an adjunct instructor. Her areas of
expertise center on supporting the implementation of evidence-based interventions by teachers
and schools, including teacher and systems coaching models to reduce the research-to-practice
gap; implementation science and systemic change, including frameworks across fields and factors
associated with sustained use of evidence-based interventions; and the application of Multi-
Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across general and special education. Dr. Pierce also has a
background in literacy instruction for struggling learners.
Dr. Pierce works in two capacities at AIR: to provide high-quality technical assistance to educators
and to conduct meaningful research with practical application to the school setting. On the
research side, Dr. Pierce serves as the implementation and coaching lead for several randomized
control trials. She is also the project director for an Institute of Education Sciences (IES)–funded
study examining the psychometric properties of a MTSS fidelity tool. On the technical assistance
side, Dr. Pierce leads coaching and systems change projects for national technical assistance centers,
including the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI).
Dr. Pierce is committed to translating research into usable materials for teachers, coaches,
and leaders. As a prior colead for the Global Implementation Society Standards Committee and
founding member of that worldwide group, she stays attuned to the most recent findings of implementation
science to improve the uptake of research in educational settings. Toward this end, she
has authored peer-reviewed articles, numerous free, online tools (including coaching modules),
and this book.
Dr. Pierce is originally from Seattle and earned her doctoral degree in special education from
the University of Washington. She lives in New York City with her wife.