Oriana Leach
Researcher
Dr. Oriana Leach is a Researcher at Chapin Hall, where she uses her expertise in qualitative research methods to engage culturally responsive and community-based participatory research practices. She examines the implementation of transformative child welfare initiatives across various states. Leach’s work at Chapin Hall helps shed light on systemic inequities that continue to persist in education and other social systems in the U.S. She conducts research that informs the work of policymakers, educators, district and school leaders, mental health professionals, child welfare agencies, community leaders, and caregivers. Ultimately, her work helps drive systems-level change in policy and practice that will not only improve the lives of youth, but also empower youth—the future leaders of the world—with changing the world and making it a better place.
Prior to joining Chapin Hall, Leach spent several years in the EdTech industry. Most recently she served as Senior Researcher at Zearn, a nonprofit digital learning software organization that closes opportunity gaps in mathematics for economically disadvantaged learners, students of color, and multilingual learners. At Curriculum Associates, Leach co-led a nationally recognized mixed-methods study that examined the impact of educator practices on historically marginalized students who “beat the odds” in reading and mathematics during the pandemic school year. A former K-12 classroom teacher, Leach also served as a Program Director at Duke University’s Talent Identification Program. There, she not only led academic year programs across the Southeastern region of the United States but also broadened access to out-of-school academic enrichment opportunities for high-achieving, historically marginalized 4th–12th grade students. During her stint at Duke University, Leach also directed program assessment and evaluation at DukeEngage. She evaluated the immediate and long-term impact of an immersive community engagement experience on undergraduate students’ moral identity development and academic and career trajectories.
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
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.
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.
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