Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond

As the President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, Dr Linda Darling-Hammond's extensive reach as an educator makes her the ideal speaker. With over 25 books and 500 articles to her name, she has played a direct role in Barack Obama's presidential campaign, as his education advisor. As a speaker, Linda tours the world to share her wealth of knowledge, specifically on education, political policy and quality teaching.

Linda graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1973. As a stepping stone in her career, she later became a Doctor of Education in Urban Education, from Temple University in 1978. Armed with a foundation of knowledge, Linda's first experience of teaching was as a public school teacher in Pennsylvania. In 1985, she worked as a Social Scientist for the RAND Corporation, an American nonprofit global policy think tank, before rejoining the world of academia as a Professor at Columbia University.

From being the President of the American Educational Research Association to a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Linda is a highly influential figure in education. She is an advocate for top-quality education, having dedicated her career to redesigning schools as Chair of the Model Standards Committee of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. In 2006, Linda was named one of the USA's 10 most influential people affecting educational policy over the last decade, by Education Week.

In this role, Linda influenced licensing standards for teachers, raising the bar in American schools. Across 40 states, she produced a new teacher certification standard to safeguard the quality of education for young students. Focusing on minority students in low-income areas, Linda drastically improved the graduation rates through better support for those disadvantaged.

Linda has worked with states, local officials and federal groups to turn the standard of American education around. As a consultant, she uses her extensive experience to positively influence students' potential, by raising the bar for teachers. As an education and youth speaker, Linda inspires audiences to value the educational opportunities surrounding them. Whether she is talking to politicians or teachers, parents or the public, an event featuring this academic pioneer can revolutionise education.