Derek Brown, EdD
Dr. Derek Brown has an extensive background in educational policy, practice, and research, with 15 years of experience working at local, state, and national levels. His expertise includes working with diverse stakeholder groups and facilitating evidence-based decision making, supporting implementation of state policies and initiatives, and building the capacity of educators and policymakers. Dr. Brown is committed to helping improve assessment knowledge and practices in communities. He has led efforts to create assessment literacy programs to increase local capacity for development and implementation of high quality, balanced assessment systems.
Dr. Brown served for six years at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), most recently as the Assistant Superintendent for the Office of Assessment and Accountability. He oversaw the development, implementation, and maintenance of Oregon’s state testing and school accountability programs, served on the Smarter Balanced Executive Committee, and directed a federally funded project to create an English language proficiency assessment aligned to the Common Core State Standards. He also led Oregon’s assessment literacy efforts, a professional development program to increase local capacity for development and implementation of high quality, balanced assessment systems. Prior to joining ODE, Derek was a senior lead researcher at the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) in Eugene, Oregon, where he coordinated research efforts in the areas of college and career readiness and academic content standards validation. He currently is the Director of Technology and Assessment for the David Douglas School District in Portland, Oregon. He earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from George Fox University.
Dr. Brown lives in Beaverton, Oregon with his wife, two children, and two very enthusiastic dogs. He is a trained classical and flamenco guitarist, and maintains an active teaching, performing, and recording schedule.