Ed3 and Deans for Impact Launch Council to Bring Teacher Preparation into National AI Conversation

New higher education council will bring educator-preparation leaders into national project to define AI-era teaching

NEW YORK (November 12, 2026) – Ed3 Global and Deans for Impact (DFI) today announced the Educator Preparation Advisory Council (EPAC), bringing together higher-education and educator-preparation leaders to guide the preparation of future teachers for an education system and workforce being transformed by artificial intelligence (AI).

EPAC is part of Ed3's Portrait of a Teacher in the Age of AI project, a multi-year research effort supported by LearnerStudio and the Gates Foundation. The initiative examines how the teaching role is changing in the AI era and proposes a set of forward-looking, adaptive frameworks and tools that guide the creation of competencies, mindsets, and roles that educators need to thrive.

To date, Ed3 has convened a K-12 Advisory Council of more than 40 partner organizations—including Pearson, Google, Digital Promise, ISTE, ETS, Teach For America, and district superintendents—to guide the project in examining the “demand side” of the teacher workforce: what schools and students will need from teachers. The EPAC, facilitated in partnership with DFI, will focus on the complementary “supply side” - how teachers must be trained and credentialed to meet AI-era demands. Together, these two councils will shape demand and supply in congruence with each other.

“AI gives us an opportunity to fundamentally rethink the teaching profession, instead of simply making existing practices more efficient,” said Vriti Saraf, Co-Founder and CEO of Ed3 Global. “The question isn’t just how we prepare teachers to use AI, but how we prepare them to make sound decisions about when, why, and whether AI belongs in learning. Those decisions have profound implications for students’ critical thinking, agency, and human connection. If we’re reimagining what we expect of teachers, we must also reimagine how we prepare them. That’s why teacher preparation leaders need a voice in shaping the future of the profession.”

The council will review and give feedback on the research agenda and on guidance for how teacher competencies, responsibilities, and talent pipelines should evolve. That guidance is designed to help education programs, districts, policymakers, and other key stakeholders develop and support teachers who are equipped for their unique contexts and students, while preserving human relationships and judgment.

For DFI, the EPAC complements ongoing efforts around teacher preparation focused on student learning and instructional quality. Earlier this year, DFI released the second edition of The Science of Learning, its seminal report applying cognitive science research to teachers’ instructional practice. It also recently announced the development of a framework with TeachingWorks that articulates a set of competencies for novice teachers to use strong instructional judgment in AI-enabled learning environments.

“As AI shifts how teachers and students engage in learning, we remain steadfast in ensuring that the decisions teachers, leaders, and policymakers make are rooted in what’s best for supporting student learning,” said Valerie Sakimura, CEO of DFI. “We are excited to partner with Ed3 to ensure that leaders in higher education and educator preparation have a voice at the table. We believe Ed3 and these council members are the right people to tackle hard questions about how to prepare teachers to make sound instructional decisions if and when AI tools are used in classrooms.”

Members of the EPAC are:

• Robert Q. Berry III, Dean, School of Education, Indiana University Bloomington
• Neporcha Cone, Dean, College of Education, Middle Tennessee State University
• Leslie Cowell, Dean and Professor, College of Education, Lipscomb University (TN)
• Meredith Critchfield, Dean, College of Education, Grand Canyon University (AZ)
• Sara DeLano, Dean, School of Education, Dallas College (TX)
• Julie Ferin, Executive Director, National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs (NACCTEP)
• Ryan Evely Gildersleeve, Dean, College of Education, Eastern Michigan University
• Kimberly Griffin, Dean, College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park
• Cathy Horn, Dean, College of Education, University of Houston (TX)
• Lisa Hunter, Associate Vice President for Academic Innovation and Transformation, American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
• Jerlando F.L. Jackson, Dean, College of Education, Michigan State University
• Gaëtane Jean-Marie, Dean, College of Education, Rowan University (NJ)
• Cullen Johnson, Director of Education, Memphis Teacher Residency (TN)
• Sarah Johnson, President and CEO, Relay Graduate School of Education
• Jim Meadows, Dean and Director, Educator Career Pathways Center, Washington Education Association (WEA-ART)
• Colleen Mulholland, Dean, College of Education; Richard O. Jacobson Endowed Chair of Leadership in Education, University of Northern Iowa
• Rene Parmar, Dean, School of Education, State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz
• Paula Groves Price, Dean, College of Education, North Carolina A&T State University
• Clif Tanabe, Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Dean, College of Education, University of Texas at El Paso
• Carolyn Theard-Griggs, Dean, National College of Education, National Louis University (IL)
• Nicole Thompson, Vice Dean, Division for Advancing Educator Preparation, Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation, Arizona State University
• Sara Vogel, Research Director, Computing Integrated Teacher Education (CITE), City University of New York (CUNY)

Learn more about Ed3’s Portrait of a Teacher in the Age of AI project at https://www.ed3global.org/teacherportrait.

About Ed3 Global

Ed3 Global is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that prepares educators for the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) through professional learning, research and development, and a global community of practice. Working with universities and other partners, Ed3 offers pedagogy-first AI literacy courses for educators across the world, built on research-backed practices familiar to many teachers, such as project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and restorative practices. Ed3 leads The Portrait of a Teacher in the Age of AI, a multi-year, multi-stakeholder, national initiative examining the changing role of teachers in the age of AI. To learn more, visit ed3global.org.

About Deans for Impact (DFI)

DFI is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure every child is taught by well-prepared teachers. We support educator-preparation programs to bring the science of learning into teaching practice; partner with policymakers to ensure pathways into teaching are accessible, practice-based, instructionally-focused, and innovative and responsive; and equip leaders with the tools to address today’s most pressing challenges in educator preparation. Guided by principles of cognitive science, we aim to help aspiring and early-career teachers create rigorous and affirming classrooms where all children thrive. To learn more, visit deansforimpact.org.

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Media Contacts:

Deans for Impact
Cece Zhou
248.854.0630
czhou@deansforimpact.org

Ed3
Everett Reiss
845.662.6973
ev@ed3global.org

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