As a senior director at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Veronica Tate provides strategic direction and quality assurance for mission-aligned projects and services in education and related content areas. She serves as a strategic advisor and relationship manager on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Intermediaries for Scale grant project aimed at catalyzing post-secondary institutional transformation through guidance from intermediary organizations and an ecosystem of support partners. Tate formerly served as president & CEO of Virginia Ed Strategies (formerly Virginia Advanced Study Strategies), a non-profit education service organization focused on increasing college and career readiness for students, especially for rural and underserved students. She provided strategic direction and directed partnerships between districts, business, and industry partners; higher education; and other education organizations to pilot evidence-based solutions to systemic challenges impacting post-secondary success. In this role, she served as co-director for two U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) research and development projects focused on increasing underrepresented student success in STEM courses and career pathways. In her previous role as director of ESEA Programs at the Virginia Department of Education, Tate led a team of content and policy experts in delivering high-quality professional development and technical assistance to implement transformative programs and services that improve student outcomes. She led the revision of Virginia’s statewide K-12 accountability system, including the development of annual measurable objectives and strategies to support low-performing schools. Tate also served as president of the National Title I Association and as a liaison to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and to the Council of Chief State School Officers