June 2023
AERA has named two individuals as AERA Congressional Fellows for 2023–24. The Fellows will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working as staff for a member of Congress or a Congressional committee and will use their education research expertise to inform public policy outside of the academic setting. This is the seventh year of the AERA Congressional Fellowship Program.
The two 2023–24 AERA Congressional Fellows are Xavier Monroe (Newhouse Consulting) and Walker Swain (University of Georgia). The AERA Congressional Fellowship Program begins September 1 each year.
Xavier Monroe recently completed his doctorate in education policy and sociology of education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. He is founder of Newhouse Consulting, which focuses on translating research to effect real-world change through policy and practice. During his studies, Monroe served as an intervention teacher at a Title I comprehensive support and improvement school during the COVID-19 pandemic. His research explores actualizing equity-minded policies, reform implementation, and STEAM opportunities especially for underrepresented and marginalized communities.
Walker Swain is an associate professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia. He previously worked as a middle school science teacher in Louisville, Ky., and received his doctorate in leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. He is a co-founder of the Just Education Policy Institute for developing scholars and has published research in Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Economics of Education Review, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and Sociology of Education.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Monroe and Dr. Swain to Washington,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Their participation in the Congressional Fellowship initiative will be invaluable for connecting policymakers with research and growing the public’s understanding of education research.”
AERA is one of more than 30 scientific and engineering societies that sponsor congressional fellowships through a program coordinated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AERA Congressional Fellows benefit from a comprehensive two-week orientation as well as professional development and networking opportunities throughout the year that are administered by AAAS. AERA also provides professional development and networking opportunities targeted specifically to education researchers.
The call for applications for the AERA 2024–25 Congressional Fellowship Program will be released in October.