Cathy Sanford

Cathy Sanford is an experienced educator, education consultant, and nonprofit administrator. She has consulted as an adjunct faculty member of the Brown University Graduate School of Education, and she has participated as a Board member of the RI Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and of Break-Through Providence. She is a founding board member of Decoding Dyslexia RI.

Ms. Sanford leads Research & Development efforts at the Highlander Institute, an up-and-coming national school reform organization. The Highlander Institute designs and supports innovative educational initiatives that improve outcomes for schools, teachers and students with a focus on blended and personalized learning. As the first Director of Programs for the Highlander Institute, she launched programming and strategic priorities for the organization, and built a regional network of teacher trainers, teacher leaders, district administrators, and teacher participants spanning four states and dozens of communities and districts. Before her move to the Institute, Ms. Sanford coordinated curriculum at the Highlander Charter School, a Pre-K-12 urban school that specializes in supporting students with diverse learning styles.

Prior to this role, Ms. Sanford taught math at two leading independent schools: the Oundle School in Northamptonshire, England, and the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island. Her current projects include Fuse RI, a statewide initiative to help Rhode Island become the first blended learning state in the country, and a partnership with state “Innovation Clusters” around the country to promote collaboration between educators and entrepreneurs. Ms. Sanford holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia and an MA in Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University.