David Lai has been named the Director of English Language Learner (ELL) Policy and Research for the Council of the Great City Schools. In this role, he will oversee all facets of ELL policy and research, work on legislative issues impacting ELLs, and lead Strategic Support Teams conducting reviews of ELL programs across Council districts.

Lai previously served as the Council’s English Language Learner Policy Manager, where he worked to advance projects and policy initiatives for multilingual learners.

“We are thrilled to have David step into this role,” said Council Executive Director Ray Hart. “His extensive experience in education and his dedication to the ELL community will be instrumental in continuing our mission of improving the educational experiences for urban students across the country.”

In 2016, Lai joined the Council as a policy fellow. Previously, he taught middle school science and STEM in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools and served as a Teach for America Corps Member. During his time as an educator, he advised award-winning STEM competition teams, collaborated on enhancing the district’s science curriculum for ELLs, and presented workshops on instructional technology. He continues to serve on the Prince George’s County Public Schools Program Advisory Committee for Project Lead the Way, supporting efforts to build an engineering student pipeline within the district.

Lai succeeds Gabriela Uro, who stepped down at the end of October after 17 years of ELL leadership at the Council. 

A graduate of Baltimore City Public Schools, Lai received a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and a master’s in education from John Hopkins University. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in education policy at the George Washington University.