Nick Yoder

Nick Yoder is a principal policy and TA consultant in the Youth, Family, and Community Development program at AIR. With almost two decades in the education field, Dr. Yoder is a leader in supporting states, districts, schools, and educators in creating the policy and practice conditions that support youth and adult social, emotional, and academic development. His work focusing on using research and data to inform policy and practice; and then identifying policy and practice levers to drive a research agenda focused on equitable opportunities to nurture whole child development. Dr. Yoder serves as a project director and strategic advisor on research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects aimed at improving conditions to support the well-being of students and educators.

Dr. Yoder provides expert technical assistance and conducts mixed-methods research with the aim of using data for continuous improvement. He has developed various research to practice and policy briefs, created tools and resources (e.g., asynchronous professional learning and self-assessments) used at all levels of the educational system, and has written extensively on strategies to support whole child and whole adult development. For example, he led work on social, emotional, and academic integration that was recently updated, Instructional Practices That Integrate Equity Centered Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning that has been the basis of multiple other tools and professional learning experiences; and was co-editor of the Advances in Motivation & Achievement Series, Motivating the SEL Field Forward Through Equity.

Dr. Yoder serves on the advisory board of several organizations, including CASEL’s Collaborating States Initiative, the SEL Providers Association, and Harmony SEL. He also serves on the Local School Council for his neighborhood school in Chicago Public Schools.

Dr. Yoder has also worked at Harmony SEL at National University as their senior director of the Whole Child and Adult Center, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) as their director of policy and practice, leading a community of practice of 42 states in their SEL efforts. He is a former Chicago Public Schools educator, instructional coach for novice teachers in the Detroit area, and a preservice instructor.