Shaping Future Leaders and Communities with Bronwyn Bevan

In this episode of In the Lead with UCEA, Executive Director Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez talks with Dr. Bronwyn Bevan, Vice President of Research at The Wallace Foundation, about the foundation's learning strategies and research initiatives. Dr. Bevan elaborates on the foundation's focus areas: educational leadership, youth development, and the arts, highlighting their long-term goals or 'North Stars' for each area. 

She also shares insights into the foundation's current initiatives, such as developing equity-centered leaders in education and supporting arts organizations founded by communities of color. Mónica and Bronwyn explore the interconnectivity of these focus areas and the strategies adopted by the foundation to innovate and document impactful change. Bronwyn also reflects on her own professional background and how it has influenced her work at the foundation.

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In the Lead with UCEA is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Dr. Bronwyn Bevan reflects on her professional background and how it has influenced her work at the foundation

I think, in my role, although all of our work is done collaboratively, of course, we all bring our own, sort of, experience and expertise to the conversation. And I think we're really trying to think differently about what kinds of research approaches are most suited for the kinds of questions that we're asking. We've moved, especially in the art space, but in other places as well, moved into more of an exploratory mode. So, it's not necessarily always hypothesis testing and those kinds of studies. Sometimes, that is what we're doing. But so, I think, it's just bringing a broader approach. I also have a background and have an edited book that I wrote with Bill Penuel on research-practice partnerships. And so, just thinking about how research and practice are intertwined can benefit one another, not putting up firewalls, thinking about evidence-based decision-making, and also, really paying attention to when the context just means that things have to be done differently than what research might say at that moment is the thing. So, bringing, maybe, that nuance to the conversation is one of the ways I think I can, I'm trying to make a contribution here.

The Wallace Foundation intends to make a broader impact through its philanthropic strategy. 

[Dr. Mónica Byrne-Jiménez] 07:16: The foundation has a real commitment to a specific kind of approach that guides the work that you do with communities, that guides the research. And so, if you could explain a little bit about that.

[Dr. Bronwyn Bevan] 07:28: Yeah. We call it our philanthropic strategy. Basically, we're a midsize foundation, so it's part of an effort to make a greater contribution with, sort of, the limited funds that we have. The basic idea is that, in each of these three areas where we have these long-term sustained conversations and sets of colleagues out in the field that are both organizations doing the work and also professional associations supporting the work that school districts are doing, our youth development programs or the arts are doing, we stay in dialogue with them. We also stay in touch with the research and reference research, and essentially, through that dialogue and conversation, identify key pressing problems of practice, and from there, essentially, identify or invite — and sometimes these are through open calls and sometimes they're through conversations — other districts, other organizations that have a shared interest in that problem.

Dr. Brevan shares some of the important questions that can move our understanding on school leadership, educational leadership, and community building.

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