Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg is the director of The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life . She manages CIRCLE’s expansive portfolio of initiatives and products, such as original research, resources for educators and public audience, on a wide range of topics related to civic learning and civic life. With a background in positive youth development and social-emotional learning, and interest in diverse and marginalized youth, she sees research as a powerful tool to address educational inequity.

Kei was a lead author on important papers and reports, such as The Republic is (Still) at Risk – and Civics is Part of the Solution (with Peter Levine); The Future of Civic Education (in NASBE Magazine); Taking the Lead: How Educators Can Help Close the Gender Leadership Gap (with the National Education Association and the American Association of University Women); and All Together Now:  Collaboration and Innovation for Youth Engagement.  She has published extensively in various peer-reviewed journals and written book chapters; her full curriculum vitae can be found here.

As a leading expert on civic education, learning, and engagement, Kei’s analysis and commentary are frequently featured in major outlets such as the New York Times, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, the Washington Post, C-SPAN, Channel 1, and NBC News. Kei hsa been a recipient of a Jobs for The Future Distinguished Fellowship for Student-Centered Learning (2016-2018), and serves on the National Board of Generation Citizen, Democracy Works, and the Leadership Council for Nonprofit VOTE. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship and the Voter Study Advisory Council. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University, with an emphasis on child and adolescent development and positive youth development.