Richelle A. Patterson

Richelle A. Patterson, a senior policy analyst in the National Education Association’s (NEA) Teacher Quality Department, focuses on teacher licensure, standards, evaluation and licensing boards. She has spent more than 15 year advocating for and researching teacher quality issues. Prior to joining the NEA, she was the teacher quality liaison in the Educational Issues Department at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). She spent six years providing technical assistance on teacher preparation, induction, mentoring, evaluation, professional development, recruitment, and retention while serving as the teacher quality staff liaison to NBPTS, NCATE, INTASC, and NAACP. A former elementary school teacher and university instructor, she earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from Morgan State University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction and Ph.D. in Education Policy & Leadership from the University of Maryland College Park.