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Marilyn Gillespie

Educational Researcher

Marilyn Gillespie, Ph.D., contributes to, manages and directs projects related to literacy and lifelong learning, youth transitions to adulthood, English language learning, teacher education and workforce preparation. Since joining the Washington D.C. office of SRI, she has worked on projects for the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute for Literacy, the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other state and foundation clients.

Dr. Gillespie’s research interests include adult and adolescent literacy education, teacher professional development, writing instruction, and the application of new technologies to support learning. Her most recent publications have focused on the inservice professional development of adult educators, curriculum development for workforce education, and the teaching of writing. She currently is working on a national evaluation of the National Writing Project, and the evaluation of the Gates Foundation Early College High School Initiative, a national evaluation of Data Systems and Decision Making for the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, she leads a project to provide research support to the National Institute for Literacy for the development of a research agenda for adult literacy. She was the SRI project manager for a National Literacy Panel charged with the identification, assessment, and synthesis of the existing research knowledge base related to the literacy development of language minority children and youth.

Dr. Gillespie is the former director of the National Center for ESL Literacy Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics where she represented the field in policy-related efforts and provided technical assistance to programs around the United States. Over the years she has worked as an adult literacy teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer and program director in the U.S. and in Southeast Asia. She is the author of numerous research articles, teacher handbooks, and training materials. She has conducted research for the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fannie Mae Foundation, and the National Center for the Study of Adult Literacy and Learning and for many other local, state and national organizations, universities, and foundations. Dr. Gillespie received her doctorate in education from the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts.