Leslie Hamburger assists states, districts, and schools in the development and implementation of excellent educational programs for English learners and migratory students. As Vice President of K-12 Systems, she serves as Director of English Learners (EL) and Migrant Education Services at WestEd and directs a team of researchers, professional developers, and technical assistance providers in improving opportunities and outcomes for multilingual learners. She leads large-scale professional development, technical assistance, research, and evaluation projects. She is Project Manager for the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners, and is a co-investigator in a mathematics research and development project to assist rising 8th grade English learners to succeed in high school mathematics courses.
She is also Co-Director of the Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) initiative, an exemplary program for the development of educator capacity to serve English learners and dual language learners. She has dedicated her career to the development of educators’ expertise to serve English learners with rigor and excellence, and to that end, she designs and facilitates professional development for school and district leaders, coaches, and teachers.
Her areas of expertise include English learners pedagogy, mathematics curriculum and instruction for multilingual learners, and professional learning for teachers of English learners and dual language learners. She has been a school and district administrator in high-poverty, diverse schools, and a mathematics educator in secondary schools. Hamburger holds an MA in educational leadership from San Jose State University.