Lauren Wells. Lauren Wells, Ph.D. is an educator, researcher, and community organizer whose
work centers on comprehensive, systemic, culturally responsive, and collaborative approaches to
change in schools and communities. She began her work in education over twenty years ago
while an undergraduate student at Temple University. She then went on to become a high
school teacher in the Bronx. Her experiences led her on a quest to create schools that are
designed to work for and elevate Black and Brown students and their communities. Wells is
trained in qualitative research and uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and
working alongside communities and schools. She applies this approach not only to the work of
school transformation, but also to transform how communities, educators, and policymakers
think about, approach, and undertake school change. In so doing, she works to increase
inclusiveness in decision-making, to foster integrated strategies that reconnect schools with
communities and link education to other systems, and to establish cultural responsiveness as
vital to how schools educate children.
work centers on comprehensive, systemic, culturally responsive, and collaborative approaches to
change in schools and communities. She began her work in education over twenty years ago
while an undergraduate student at Temple University. She then went on to become a high
school teacher in the Bronx. Her experiences led her on a quest to create schools that are
designed to work for and elevate Black and Brown students and their communities. Wells is
trained in qualitative research and uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and
working alongside communities and schools. She applies this approach not only to the work of
school transformation, but also to transform how communities, educators, and policymakers
think about, approach, and undertake school change. In so doing, she works to increase
inclusiveness in decision-making, to foster integrated strategies that reconnect schools with
communities and link education to other systems, and to establish cultural responsiveness as
vital to how schools educate children.
Wells has been at the forefront of education policy and transformation in New Jersey for over 10
years. In 2009, Dr. Wells became the Director of the Broader Bolder Approach to Education at
the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University (NYU) where she the led
the design and implementation of a major school reform initiative in Newark called the “Newark
Global Village School Zone.” This reform has had a lasting impact on the Central High School, one
of Newark’s comprehensive high schools. She has served as Chief Education Officer for Mayor
Ras Baraka in the City of Newark, where she led education policy and developed initiatives on
behalf of the City. She has also been a professor of education at the University of Southern
California, Montclair State University, and American University. In 2016, Wells founded Creed
Strategies to create a community of consultants whose core mission is to use their knowledge,
experience, and resources to work alongside educators and communities to ignite learning
conditions where the genius of every child and educator can blaze. She has worked in over a
dozen school districts on educational equity and school transformation.
years. In 2009, Dr. Wells became the Director of the Broader Bolder Approach to Education at
the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University (NYU) where she the led
the design and implementation of a major school reform initiative in Newark called the “Newark
Global Village School Zone.” This reform has had a lasting impact on the Central High School, one
of Newark’s comprehensive high schools. She has served as Chief Education Officer for Mayor
Ras Baraka in the City of Newark, where she led education policy and developed initiatives on
behalf of the City. She has also been a professor of education at the University of Southern
California, Montclair State University, and American University. In 2016, Wells founded Creed
Strategies to create a community of consultants whose core mission is to use their knowledge,
experience, and resources to work alongside educators and communities to ignite learning
conditions where the genius of every child and educator can blaze. She has worked in over a
dozen school districts on educational equity and school transformation.
Dr. Wells serves of Co-Chair of the Newark Youth Policy Board and is a Trustee of the Newark
Public Library. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the American University School of
Education. Dr. Wells received a BA in English from Temple University, an MA in Educational
Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the
University of California Los Angeles.
Public Library. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the American University School of
Education. Dr. Wells received a BA in English from Temple University, an MA in Educational
Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the
University of California Los Angeles.