Christina Theokas

Christina Theokas is Chief of Applied Science at Turnaround for Children. In this role, she oversees the organization’s research and development arm that generates applied knowledge, tools and resources about whole-child design and the program team that builds the capacity of educators through leadership consulting and professional learning experiences. Christina came to Turnaround from the National Center for Urban School Transformation, where she studied the teaching practices, systems and structures, and leadership of high-performing, urban schools and worked with educators to implement those strategies in their schools. Before this, Christina was Chief Program Officer at Breakthrough Collaborative, a national out-of-school time provider, and The Education Trust as director of research and practice. She has studied and written about opportunity gaps students of color and low-income students experience and how schools dismantle structural inequities, improve, and change the odds for students. Christina has also worked as a special education teacher, school psychologist, principal and conducted evaluations of district programs and initiatives to support continuous improvement. She is the author two books, “Getting it Done: Leading Academic Success in Unexpected Schools” and “Five Practices for Improving the Success of Latino Students: A Guide for Secondary School Leaders.” Christina holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Tufts University, an M.A. in school psychology from Mount Holyoke College and a B.A. in psychology and art from Colby College.