Founder and CEO
Dr. Christina Hinton
christina_hinton@post.harvard.edu
Dr. Christina Hinton is the Founder and CEO of RSI. She also leads the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard's work in education. In both of these capacities, she leads research and professional development to support learning and flourishing in schools around the globe. Prior to her current roles, Dr. Hinton was a faculty member at Harvard Graduate School of Education, lecturing on the neuroscience of learning, character education, and school-based research. She also worked in multilateral diplomacy and international policy-making at the OECD’s Center for Educational Research and Innovation and UNICEF. At the OECD, she was a primary editor and author of the books Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science and Languages in a Global World: Learning for Better Cultural Understanding. She completed her doctorate and Master’s in education, neuroscience, and child development at Harvard.
Director of Research
Catherine Glennon
Catherine Glennon is Director of Research at Research Schools International. Her primary motivation as a researcher is to connect research and practice in primary and secondary schools. Glennon’s research interests include musical development, growth mindset, global education, and care. She has been trained at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Director of Practice
Dr. Jim Heal
Jim Heal completed the Doctorate of Education Leadership program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His main motivation is to develop approaches to research that can serve as levers of improvement in school contexts. He is particularly interested in understanding how best to create democratic cultures in classrooms and schools, starting with pedagogy. Originally from the UK, he has spent the last ten years working there as a teacher, administrator, and researcher.
Researchers
Dr. R. noah padgett
R. Noah Padgett, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow with the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. His research focuses on the development, evaluation, and application of advanced quantitative methods for the study of human behavior across the lifespan. His work includes publications on topics including educational measurement, psychometric theory, applied statistics, and biostatistics. His recent work is focused on novel prior specifications within Bayesian item factor analysis in measurement invariance testing and developing novel psychometric metrics for measure development (e.g., the relative excess correlation).
Dr. Ayse Yemiscigil
Ayse Yemiscigil, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and a lecturer at the Harvard Extension School. Ayse was previously a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. She earned her Ph.D. in behavioral sciences from Warwick Business School and completed a master's degree in behavioral and economic sciences at Warwick University, UK. Ayse researches the social-economic determinants of psychological well-being and the development of authenticity and prosocial motivation in the context of work and education.
Arielle Jennings Heal
Arielle Jennings Heal graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master of Education in Human Development and Psychology. Arielle's research interests include student-centered pedagogy, civic and moral development and youth voice. Her professional experience includes eight years of civic and global experiential education, curricular design, and teacher training in K-12 and higher education institutions.
Dr. Bryan Mascio
Bryan Mascio completed his doctorate in Human Development and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His primary research focuses on the social-emotional-cognitive skills of teaching, and the development of those skills. Other areas of interest and expertise include the development of survey scales, student and teacher social emotional learning, and the intersection of teacher professionalism and school improvement.
Mallory Perry
Mallory Perry graduated with a Masters of Education from the Human Development and Psychology program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Following two years on the administrative team at a private Montessori school in Boston, Mallory joined RSI's team where her research has focused on student centered learning, Harkness and growth mindset.
Lauren Schiller
lauren_schiller@mail.harvard.edu
Lauren Schiller graduated from the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is currently working towards completing her Ph.D. in Cognitive Studies in Education at Columbia University. She is broadly interested in mathematics education for children with disabilities/difficulties in math. She is also interested in Universal Design for Learning and in utilizing lessons about the brain to empower children.
Ashim Shanker
Ashim Shanker graduated with a Master’s degree in Education from the International Education Policy program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research interests include global competence, civic education and social-emotional skills. His experience includes more than 14 years of classroom teaching in international education environments. Ash has also worked on research projects with UNICEF South Asia and Harvard GSE's Global Education Innovation Initiative.
Cyntia Barzelatto Jabbaz
cyntia_barzelatto@mail.harvard.edu
Cyntia Barzelatto Jabbaz graduated from the Human Development and Psychology program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is mainly interested in the promotion of social and emotional learning from early childhood in innovative spaces, in and beyond the classroom. Her research interests include self and social awareness, compassion development, mindfulness and other contemplative practices, love and romantic relationships and second language learning.
Rina Deshpande
Rina Deshpande graduated from the Mind, Brain, and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests are developing self awareness and self regulation through yoga and mindfulness practice. She writes a mindful living column for adults on Sonima.com and creates written, illustrated, and audio children's books.
Heather Francis
heather_francis@mail.harvard.edu
Heather Francis graduated from the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her main research interests include language and literacy development. Specifically she is interested in intersection of language learning and reading disabilities. She is passionate about using educational neuroscience research to empower students, practitioners and parents.
Sally Hahn
Sally Hahn graduated from the International Education Policy program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include understanding the long-term impacts of receiving a global education at the K-12 level, how to bring global education effectively into the local classroom, and the role of language in shaping the identity of multilingual speakers.
Christine Marsico
Christine Marsico graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education's International Education Policy program. She specializes in how global education can foster empathy, curiosity and a sense of social responsibility in students.
Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell
Elisabeth Osgood-Campbell graduated from the Mind, Brain and Education Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Elisabeth is an education researcher who is passionate about supporting student learning and well-being across the lifespan. Her research interests include embodied cognition, mindfulness, active learning, and trauma resolution.
Laura Emiliana Rodríguez Morales
Emiliana created a social-emotional curriculum that the Ministry of Education in Mexico implemented with more than 80,000 teachers and 23 million children. Her main field of expertise is the intersection between Neuroscience, Education and Contemplative practices. She has a background in Physics and a Master’s degree in Mind, Brain and Education from Harvard University. She has co-authored seven books on social and emotional learning skills and delivered more than 200 presentations in America and Europe. In addition to working with RSI, she also works with the Ministry of Education in Mexico, Made for Joy, The World Bank, and UNESCO.
Lilian Cheung
Lilian Cheung holds a Master's in Statistics from North Carolina State University and a B.S. in Mathematics-Statistics and Economics from University of Connecticut. Her primary goal is to use statistics to support research efforts that improve educational outcomes for all students.
Dr. Sophie Turnbull Booton
Sophie Turnbull Booton graduated from the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds a bachelor's degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Sheffield. Her research interests encompass cognitive development, emotional development, development of self-regulation, and positive education.
Brianna Wilson
Brianna Wilson graduated with an Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education.. Her research interests focus on teacher learning and the development of adaptive expertise, but also include mindfulness, motivation, and self-regulation. Her professional repertoire includes teaching, coaching, professional development, improvement science and design based research.
Ben Hill
Ben Hill graduated from the Mind, Brain, and Education Master's Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he also continues to work as a teaching fellow. Seeking to bridge cognitive science research with educational practice, his research interests include the areas of attention, metacognition, cultural fluency, language learning, and psychological wellbeing across the lifespan. He is also fascinated by the promise that reflective practices, such as mindful meditation, gratitude journaling, communing with nature, and engaging in creative arts, hold for unlocking our human potential.
Lily Massaro
Lily Massaro graduated with an Ed.M. in Human Development and Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about research-practice partnerships, and has professional and research experience in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Her research interests include social emotional learning, school climate, equity and inclusion, and professional development.
Abigail Reed
Abigail Reed graduated with an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education specializing in Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology and Global, International, and Comparative Education. She holds degrees in literature from Middlebury College and the University of Cambridge. Abigail's professional experience includes almost a decade of classroom teaching in international education environments. She is broadly interested in innovative school models, school (re)design, and global competence.
Whitney Warren
Whitney Warren is a graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Education with an M.Ed. in Education Policy and Analysis and a concentration in Global, International and Comparative Education, where she was a Zaentz Early Childhood Initiative Fellow. She has 10 years of international classroom teaching experience and works as a short-term consultant for The World Bank. She was Fulbright Fellow in Mexico City. She additionally holds a M.A.T. in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia. Her interests include increasing equitable access to quality early years education, teacher wellbeing and professional development, and supporting caregivers to implement responsive parenting.
STAFF
Operations and Development Coordinator
Sophie Frushell
Sophie Frushell studies leadership, organizations and entrepreneurship at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds a bachelor's degree in International Studies with a concentration in Global and Cultural Studies from Boston College. Sophie was previously a Fulbright Research Student in the Dominican Republic where she researched best practices for curriculum surrounding identity formation and social emotional learning for Dominican and Haitian youth.