Debbie Zacarian

Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D., is an internationally recognized expert in strengths-based education and policies and practices for multilingual learners. She is the founder of Zacarian & Associates, through which she provides professional development, strategic planning, and technical assistance to K–16 educators serving culturally and linguistically diverse students and those living with trauma, violence, and chronic stress. With over three decades of combined experience, she has served as a district administrator, university faculty member, and educational service agency leader, including roles as founder-director of the Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services and founding director of Amherst Public Schools’ bilingual and English learner programs.

Zacarian holds an advanced degree in clinical psychology and a doctorate in educational policy, research, and administration, and she has written more than 100 publications, including numerous bestselling professional books. She is the author or coauthor of Beyond Crises: Overcoming Linguistic and Cultural Inequities in Communities, Schools, and Classrooms, Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts for English Learners’ Success, and Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students Living with Trauma, Violence, and Chronic Stress, as well as other works such as Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students and Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration.[12