Employee Spotlight: Alison LaGarry-Cahoon

At Participate Learning, we are committed to uniting our world through global learning. Many of us are former teachers, principals, or school district leaders. All of us believe in the importance of equitable access to quality education to foster human understanding and create peace. Read on to learn more about Alison LaGarry-Cahoon, director of evaluation and research, and her passion for this work.

Path to Participate Learning

Alison’s commitment to teaching and uniting our world through global learning began at a young age growing up in a family of teachers. This experience taught her about the amazing intellect, humor, and fierce commitment of educators who prioritize student learning and well-being. Before entering graduate school, she taught K-12 vocal music to students from around the world in Boston and the D.C. metro area. Alison has also spent time evaluating educational programs across the country and worked with statewide education initiatives such as Turnaround Arts: Minnesota and the A+ Schools Program of North Carolina. Her work as a professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill focused on equity and justice in education, and she believes that the phrase “Uniting Our World” opens up space to address issues of equity related to language learning, teacher quality, and professional development.

A day in the life

Alison’s favorite part about her workday is collaborating with her colleagues on various projects, such as designing data systems that will aid in continuing improvement in the company. Team meetings are both exciting and vital to helping her learn about the company’s values. She is committed to understanding the processes that make Participate Learning offerings worthwhile for schools and teachers by ensuring the success of the company’s data infrastructure that helps make these processes more streamlined.

Lifelong commitment to education

Participate Learning’s commitment to global education resonates with Alison’s lifelong commitment to doing impactful work in the field of education with an eye toward equity and justice. Her experience as an educator has given her a unique opportunity to ground her research and evaluation in real-world, practical concerns faced by teachers, schools, and communities, allowing her to ask questions that take social issues, resource limitation, and cultural context into consideration as vital to any measures of the company’s success.

We are always looking for talented people to join our team, especially people who are also passionate about uniting our world through global learning. To find out more, visit our Careers page. If you are an international teacher interested in our program, learn more here.