Oriana Leach
Researcher
Dr. Oriana Leach is a qualitative and mixed-methods researcher whose work bridges education, child welfare, and social policy through rigorous research design, participatory action research, and arts-based inquiry. Trained as both a scholar and filmmaker, she integrates film as a qualitative method and a tool for counter-storytelling and narrative change. Her expertise spans participatory and community-engaged research, survey design, and arts-based approaches. Currently, Oriana leads qualitative inquiry for the OPT-In for Families Initiative, which centers community voice in child welfare reform. Across projects, she has been recognized for blending methodological rigor with creative approaches to ensure the lived experiences of youth and families shape the evidence base guiding practice and policy.
A former K–12 teacher, Leach has held director-level roles at Duke University, including leading program evaluation at DukeEngage and directing academic programs at Duke TIP, then one of the largest Talent Search programs in the nation. In these positions, she advanced large-scale education programming, program evaluation and assessment, and student learning outcomes. She also contributed to studies on teacher–scientist partnerships, game-based learning environments, and AI-driven educational technologies at NC State’s Center for Educational Informatics and The Friday Institute.
Leach’s education research career includes a Senior Researcher role at Zearn, where she applied expertise in research design and culturally responsive practice to strengthen instructional tools and improve math achievement for historically marginalized students. At Curriculum Associates, she helped lead the nationally recognized Beating the Odds study—featured in Education Week—examining schools achieving exceptional results with underrepresented learners during the pandemic.
Leach has authored peer-reviewed publications, contributed to practitioner-focused reports, and presented nationally on educational equity in K-12 and higher education. Her scholarship and applied research consistently bridge academic rigor with real-world impact, affirming her commitment to transforming systems that serve children, youth, and families.
Leach holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Educational Psychology from North Carolina State University, a Master of Science in Education from St. John’s University, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, Specialization in Educational Psychology, North Carolina State University
Master of Science in Education, St John’s University
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
Leach, O., & Heaton, L. (2025, September). Heard. Leading change: How community voice drives OPT-In implementation. Kids Are Worth It! Conference. Lexington, KY.
Heaton, L., & Leach, O. (2025, September). Bringing Implementation to Life: How Evaluation and Co-Design Shape OPT-In in Kentucky. Parent Engagement Summit. Lexington, KY.
Pope, A., & Leach, O. (2022, November). Accelerating growth for at-risk students: What did we learn during the 2021-2022 school year? Paper Presentation. California Educational Research Association, Anaheim, CA.
Leach, O., & Pope, A. (2022, July). Unlocking keys to success of beating the odds schools. General Session. 2022 Ferguson Institute. Chicago, IL.
Anderson, B. N., Johnson Leach, O. T., Goudelock, J. L., & Bullard, A. J. (2020, November). “I had to slay dragons”: Research on Black girls and women in gifted education. Panel Session, National Association for Gifted Children Annual Convention, Orlando, FL.
Johnson Leach, O. T. (2020, April). “I’m more than what you see”: Gendered racial microaggressions on gifted Black girls’ mental health. American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Johnson, O. T. (2019, November). The academic experiences of gifted African American female adolescents. National Association for Gifted Children Annual Convention, Albuquerque, NM.
Johnson, O. T. (2019, June). Being gifted, Black, and female at predominantly White schools: Examining the counter-narratives of gifted Black girls. Paper presented at the 2019 Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented Gifted + Equity Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Johnson, O. T., McCoy, W., Womble Edwards, C., & White, A. M. (2019, April). “Do my ‘locs offend you?”: Black women’s experiencing of gendered racial microaggressions in the academy. Invited Speaker Paper, American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Ontario.
McCoy, W., Gibson, S., Johnson, O. T., DeCuir-Gunby, J. T. (2019, April). Racial microaggressions and African American students at predominantly White institutions: A mixed-methods study. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario.
Johnson, O. T. (2018, August). The academic experiences of gifted Black girls who attend predominantly Whites. American Psychological Association Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Johnson, O. T. (2018, April). Gifted Black girls attending predominantly White schools. Black Communities: A Conference for Collaboration, Durham, NC.
Johnson, O. T., White, A., Womble, C., McCoy, W., & DeCuir-Gunby, J. T. (2017, August). Examining the psychological impacts of racial microaggressions on African Americans in higher education. American Psychological Association Convention, Washington, DC.
DeCuir-Gunby, J. T., Johnson, O. T., White, A. M., Womble, C., & McCoy, W. (2017, June). Coping with racial microaggressions in the higher education work context. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Albuquerque, NM.
Johnson, O. T., White, A., Womble, C., McCoy, W., & DeCuir-Gunby, J. T. (2017, April). African Americans in the higher education workplace context: Experiencing and coping with racial microaggressions. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX.
Gray, D.L., Hill, L., Bryant, L., Wornoff, J., Johnson, O. T., Jackson, L. (2015, April). Examining associations between fitting in at school and heart rate variability among inner-city, African American adolescents. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Leach, O. T., Heaton, L., Gandarillo Ocampo, M., Cepuran, C., West, K., & McCrae, J. (2025). OPT-In Community Cafe findings from South Carolina. Chapin Hall.
Leach, O. T., Heaton, L., Gandarillo Ocampo, M., VanMeeter, M., West, K., & McCrae, J. (2025). OPT-In Community Cafe findings from Kentucky. Chapin Hall.
VanMeeter, M., Heaton, L., Gandarillo Ocampo, M., Leach, O., West, K., & McCrae, J. (2025). OPT-In Community Cafe findings from Oregon. Chapin Hall.
Johnson Leach, O. T. (in press). Unlocking doors to talent search and enrichment programs for gifted Black learners. In J. Lawson-Davis (Ed.). Bright, Talented, and Black, 1st Edition, Educator’s Supplement. Gifted Unlimited, LLC.
Pope, A., & Leach, O. (2022). Keys to unlocking success: Promising leadership practices of schools that exceeded expectations during the pandemic. September 2022 Annual Report. Curriculum Associates: North Billerica, MA. https://www.curriculumassociates.com/research-and-efficacy/beating-the-odds-report
Leach, O. (2021). A year without sleep: The unfortunate truth about gender equity and working mothers in a pandemic. The Diversity Movement, Raleigh, NC. https://thediversitymovement.com/part-1-a-year-without-sleep-the-unfortunate-truth-about-gender-equity-and-working-mothers-in-a-pandemic/
DeCuir-Gunby, J. T., Johnson, O. T., Womble Edwards, C., McCoy, W. N., & White, A. (2019). African American professionals in higher education: Experiencing and coping with racial microaggressions. Manuscript accepted for publication in Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Education. doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1579706
Johnson, O. T. (2018). The role of racial identity, parental socialization, and school connectedness on the academic experiences of gifted Black female adolescents attending predominantly White schools. North Carolina State University. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 11007124. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2133071307
Johnson, O. T. (2017). A shift in scientific identities: How teacher-scientist partnerships can impact middle school teachers’ science teaching and instruction. The William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Raleigh, NC. https://fi.ncsu.edu/news/shifting-scientific-identities/
Gray, D. L., Hill, L., Bryant, L., Wornoff, J., Johnson, O. T., Jackson, L. (2015). Examining associations between fitting in at school and heart rate variability among inner-city, African American adolescents. In J. DeCuir-Gunby & P. Schutz. (2016). Race and Ethnicity in the Study of Motivation in Education. New York: Routledge.
Thank you for your interest in Chapin Hall’s research. Please share some information to access this file.