Cori has worked in education for the last 13 years, as a teacher, researcher, project manager, and consultant. Recently, Cori worked on special projects for First 8 Memphis, a pre-k advocacy organization in Memphis, Tennessee. Cori also served as a research associate at The George Washington University for six years where she conducted two longitudinal studies of turnaround work in Tennessee (one on the Tennessee Achievement School District, and the other on the Shelby County Schools iZone). Through that work, she helped create the framework for the studies, collected data, coded and analyzed interviews across multiple levels of these school systems, and published articles in academic journals and a book chapter on qualitative research methods.
Previously, Cori worked as a project manager for the Michigan Council for Educator Evaluation, tasked with reforming teacher evaluation across the state. Before that, she served as a high school English teacher through Teach for America in rural Eastern North Carolina.
Cori received her master’s degree in Educational Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, where she also played soccer. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband and three children. She loves being outside, playing and watching sports, playing board games with her family, and spending time at the beach whenever possible!