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Dr. Melissa Rasberry is an accomplished education professional with proven visionary leadership and strategic communication skills, honed through 25 years of experience in public K-16 classrooms and education nonprofits. Currently, she serves as the Director of the Professional Learning and Leading Collaborative at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University. Before joining the Friday Institute, Rasberry served as principal technical assistance consultant for education at the American Institutes for Research (AIR); led community and organizational networking at the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ); and began her career as a third grade teacher and a principal intern at two diverse elementary schools in Durham NC. While completing her Ed.D. in educational leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she taught two courses in the school's undergraduate elementary education program (Learning and Development in the Elementary Classroom; and Culture, Society, and Teaching). Presently, she serves as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia State University in their educational leadership program. Her professional interests span the teaching and leading continuum—from recruitment and preparation to professional development and retention.