Laura Wangsness Willemsen

Dr. Wangsness Willemsen’s teaching, research and practice is aimed at ensuring schooling supports equity and well-being in both US and international contexts. She has been researching the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on public education in the United States since March of 2020, with a particular focus on teachers' experiences. She is an associate professor in the Department of Doctoral Studies in Education at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Previously, she was at the University of Minnesota, where she worked on issues of educational equity and led qualitative research for study of educational initiatives in East Africa. Prior to the pandemic, her research focused primarily on gender and schooling in Tanzania, where she has researched, taught, studied and lived intermittently for over 25 years. As an international practitioner working at the nexus of education, development and gender, Dr. Wangsness Willemsen has consulted with institutions such as USAID, the United Nations Girls’ Educational Initiative, CARE International, the MasterCard Foundation and RTI.