Darleen Opfer

Darleen Opfer is vice president and director of RAND Education and Labor and holds the Distinguished Chair in Education Policy at the RAND Corporation. She served as director of RAND Education from 2011 to 2018; from 2005 to 2011, she was director of research and senior lecturer in research methods and school improvement at the University of Cambridge’s (England) Faculty of Education. Opfer has conducted policy research studies for a number of local, state, and national governments on issues that affect teachers and schools, including recruitment and retention, professional development, and impact of policies on teacher practice. In 2014, she was selected as a Thomas J. Alexander Fellow by the OECD where she used TALIS 2013 data to explore conditions that support teacher professional development. Her research also includes national studies of teacher professional development for England and Turkey, a study of teacher professional development and its relationship to school outcomes in six U.S. states, and a study of recruitment and retention of teachers and school leaders for the Scottish Government. 

Opfer served as an advisor to the National Council for Education Research and Training, India. She also served as a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development, working on the Increased Access to Quality Education and Training Initiative in South Africa. Opfer is the author of numerous books, reports, and journal articles and has presented to practitioners, researchers, and policymakers worldwide. Opfer holds a Ph.D. in education policy studies from the University of Virginia and B.A. in education from Stetson University.