Verna Lalbeharie is a strategic leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing education technology, personalized learning and evidence-based reform to create more equitable education systems. She brings deep expertise in research, policy and practice, and is known for her ability to bridge these areas to improve learning outcomes for all students.
Ms. Lalbeharie is a managing director at Results for Development (R4D) where she supports the growth and development of two practices — global education and innovation. She also serves as executive director of EdTech Hub, a global research-to-practice initiative led by R4D that supports education decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries by giving them the evidence they need to use technology to accelerate learning. In this role, she leads the Hub’s strategic direction and works closely with partners and donors, representing the initiative externally.
Previously, Ms. Lalbeharie served as managing director for personalized learning at the American Institutes for Research, where she guided state and local education agencies in implementing EdTech and digital personalized learning initiatives, and led business development for a portfolio of research, evaluation and technical assistance projects. She also served as co-chair of the national steering committee for the EdTech Genome Project, which aimed to support more evidence-informed EdTech decision-making and is currently a member of the Brookings Institute’s Global Taskforce on AI and Education.
Before AIR, she was the EdTech director for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where she led the implementation of the state’s digital learning initiative and the development of digital learning competencies for teachers and administrators. She provided strategic vision and oversight for North Carolina’s suite of EdTech platforms and tools aligned to curriculum and instruction.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Lalbeharie was a senior program director at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University, where she supported professional learning and innovation in teaching with technology. She also spent more than a decade in nonprofit research and development roles, leading large, multi-year, multi-partner initiatives focused on secondary and postsecondary education reform.
A native of South Africa, Ms. Lalbeharie is based in North Carolina, U.S. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College and a Master of Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
