Rebecca Winthrop

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Rebecca Winthrop is a globally recognized leader in education and a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. Her work centers on a core question facing education systems worldwide: how to ensure all young people—particularly those most marginalized—develop the skills they need to thrive in work, life, and as constructive, engaged citizens.

At Brookings, Winthrop leads cutting-edge research and action-oriented initiatives focused on transforming education systems to be more relevant, equitable, and effective. Her work explores how education innovations, family and community engagement, and advances such as artificial intelligence can be harnessed to accelerate progress and close opportunity gaps. She currently leads the Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education and co-leads the Family Engagement in Education Network, bringing together policymakers, educators, families, technologists, and researchers to shape the future of learning.

Winthrop is a trusted adviser to school communities and to national and international organizations. Her expertise is regularly sought by governments, international institutions, foundations, civil society organizations, and corporations, including the United Nations, UNESCO, the White House, parent and family networks, and Fortune 500 companies. She has served as chair of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative Technical Advisory Group, helping to frame a global education vision focused on access, quality, and global citizenship. With the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, she co-led the Learning Metrics Task Force, engaging education leaders in over 100 countries to define how to measure what matters most in education systems.

Her leadership extends across numerous global initiatives, including the G-20 Education Task Force, the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on education, the Mastercard Foundation’s Youth Learning Advisory Committee, and as an education adviser to the Clinton Global Initiative. She currently serves as a board member and adviser to several global education organizations and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she lectures on education policy and practice.

Prior to joining Brookings in 2009, Winthrop spent 15 years working in the field of education for displaced and migrant communities. As head of education for the International Rescue Committee, she led education programs across more than 20 conflict-affected countries and played a central role in developing the global evidence base and policy frameworks for education in emergencies, including global minimum standards for education in contexts of armed conflict and state fragility.

Winthrop is the author of numerous influential books and reports, including The Disengaged Teen (with Jenny Anderson), Leapfrogging Inequality, and Transforming Education Systems. Her work has been featured widely in major national and international media. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University Teachers College, an M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a B.A. from Swarthmore College.