Meet our People

Passionate about putting research into practice, Dr. Boardman works closely with teachers and school leaders to study and innovate reading instruction across content areas in classrooms that include emergent bilingual learners and students with disabilities. She is especially interested in finding ways to engage teachers in meaningful professional learning experiences. Dr. Boardman is a principal investigator on a design based implementation research study that has developed a project-based learning (PBL)...

Sona Dimidjian, Ph.D. is Director of the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research focuses on cultivating mental health and wellness among women, children, and families by engaging people’s capacities for learning to care for themselves and their communities. She develops and studies programs and practices in education and healthcare settings, with an emphasis on navigating...

Daniel (Dan) Liston is Professor of Education in the Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice (EFPP) program and in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program. Professor Liston's research interests include curriculum theory, teacher education, reflective teaching, and educational foundations. Specifically he examines justifications for distinct curricula; provides articulations for and critiques of teacher education; and explores the social and political contexts of schooling. Recently he has begun to explore the various...

I am a Professor in the program in Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. I was a two-way dual language bilingual teacher in Redwood City, CA prior to entering the Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley in Language, Literacy and Culture in Education in 1999. I conduct qualitative research using ethnographic and discourse analytic methods in culturally and linguistically diverse settings. My...

I design and study curriculum materials, assessments, and professional learning experiences for teachers in science. I work in partnership with school districts and state departments of education, and the research I conduct is in support of educational equity in three dimensions: (1) equitable implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards; (2) creating inclusive classroom cultures that attend to students’ affective experiences and where all students have authority for constructing knowledge...

Dr. Ashley Potvin was drawn to the Crown Institute by the mission, approach to research, and the dedicated and amazing faculty and staff. She was eager to work in a community that strives to live out its commitments to collaboration, inclusiveness, and equity. She was also excited to collaborate with educators to think deeply about compassion and wellness in schools. Ashley has a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from CU...