Ann McKay Bryson serves as a CASEL district consultant working with the Oakland Unified School District in California and the Washoe County School District in Nevada. As an SEL professional learning specialist, her particular areas of focus include building and supporting trauma-Informed educational communities, expanding adult SEL development, and leveraging formative and summative assessments for developing student capacity.

In her 32 years with the Anchorage School District, Ann followed two decades as a classroom and special education teacher at both the elementary and secondary levels with 12 years of providing professional development for teachers, administrators, and school staffs. She collaboratively led ASD’s SEL standards-based assessment project and developed the professional learning support network that underpins the delivery of their evidence-based SEL program.

Ann designed and oversaw ASD’s multiyear research project on Second Order Change, partnering with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, the Devereux Center for Resilient Children, the National Coalition Building Institute, and the American Institutes for Research, highlighting student academic and school community benefits resulting from a focus on adult SEL development.

Ann serves as an adjunct at University of Alaska, Anchorage, providing a wide array of courses including SEL Professional Inquiry, SEL-Based Principal Leadership, Mentoring and Induction, and Trauma-Aware Effective Teaching Practices. She served two terms as National Writing Project Board Chair for the Alaska State Writing Consortium. Ann co-facilitates SEL professional development nationally and has presented at national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association in 2008, 2010, and 2014.