Dr. Nicole Barnes leads APA’s initiatives to advance cutting-edge applied research to inform educational practices and policies, translate it into accessible formats for educators, and champion evidence-based approaches alongside APA’s Advocacy team to support policies that help children and adolescents thrive. With over two decades of dedication to advancing youth learning and well-being, Dr. Barnes earned her PhD in Educational Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with concentrations in cognition, learning, development, and educational measurement. She began her career as a fifth-grade teacher in Elizabeth, NJ, where she grew up, igniting her passion for teaching and educational practices. Dr. Barnes spent more than a decade in higher education, serving as a professor of educational psychology and a senior doctoral faculty member in the Teacher Education, Teacher Development Program at Montclair State University in New Jersey.