Mathematics, B.A. | Class of 2007

Joan Zoellner

Launch Years Initiative Lead

Employer: Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin

Job description: Joan leads the Launch Years Initiative, which seeks to usher in a new paradigm to support students with math pathways that are aligned to their goals. This work is currently taking place in 22 states, focusing on the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education. Joan’s leadership enables the member states to learn with and from one another, so that they can each develop and implement solutions that make sense within their unique contexts.

Joan also supports the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of innovative professional learning offerings in both virtual and face-to-face settings. She presents findings at national and regional conferences of professional mathematics organizations to inform the mathematics community about best practices in teaching gateway mathematics students.

Joan previously served as the project lead for the Corequisite Research Design Collaborative, a national initiative designed to dramatically increase the number of racialized and low-income students enrolled in and completing corequisite supports that are based on sound, research-informed design principles. She also developed curricula for the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways, a transformative redesign to modernize entry-level college mathematics programs through working with states, systems, universities, and colleges. She has worked extensively with the development and revision of the DCMP’s Quantitative Reasoning, Reasoning with Functions 1, and Reasoning with Functions 2 courses.