Before retirement, Linda Carstens was the Director of Professional Learning at the School Redesign Network at the School of Education, Stanford University. She has over 30 years of district-level administrator experience in California, in San Diego City Schools, and other school districts, primarily in the areas of standards, assessment, curriculum and instruction as part of systemic reform, and in services for English Language Learners. She also served as a Visiting Educator in the Accountability Branch of the California Department of Education. As a senior researcher at WestEd, she worked with several California districts in the area of systemic reform and second language, and for two years, co-provided the state's Title III technical assistance obligation to districts. She earned a Ph.D. in multicultural education from Claremont Graduate University in 1993 and an M.A from San Diego State University in Curriculum and Instruction in 1987. Her undergraduate degree in Spanish and Elementary Education was from Clarke College in 1969. In addition to her other educational experiences, she has also guest-taught in her family hometown of Arienzo, Italy and at the Centro del Muchacho Trabajador in Quito, Ecuador.
Linda resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she volunteers her time with local organizations. She has been a member of two national advisory boards related to education for second language students and serves as a peer reviewer for federal ESSA and NCLB competitions, and for Ed Reports and the English Learner Success Forum's curriculum development projects.
