Charlie Thompson is a Research and Policy Associate at the Learning Policy Institute. Currently, she works on the Whole Child Education and Educator Quality teams, where she focuses on instructionally relevant and performance-based assessment, community schools, and educator preparation and support. 

Thompson spent the first part of her career as a teacher, working in both public and private schools in New York City and California. These experiences led her to investigate how to design learning environments that cultivate student belonging, activate student curiosity, and support sustainable growth through meaningful feedback. In her work as a graduate research assistant, she developed an interest in conducting research that regards student, educator, family, and community member expertise as important evidence to inform policy development and implementation.

Thompson holds an MA in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, an MA in Teaching English, Secondary Education from Teachers College at Columbia University, a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Pennsylvania, and teaching credentials in California and New York.