Verna Lalbeharie

Executive Director EdTech Hub

Verna Lalbeharie is the executive director of the EdTech Hub, leading the Hub in advancing its mission to empower governments and people in using technology in education through rigorous evidence. Ms. Lalbeharie, a native of South Africa, now based in the US, has more than 25 years of experience in strategic leadership and business development in education technology, personalised learning, research, and technical assistance. She has focused her career on evidence and advancement of education technology to create a more equitable future for all students. Her early career was spent on initiatives and research efforts to advance student success with a focus on secondary and postsecondary education reform. In an R&D capacity in non-profits for 13 years, Ms. Lalbeharie worked on complex, large-scale, national, multi-component, multi-partner, and multi-year education initiatives. Also, she has led implementation of a state-wide digital learning initiative and the development of digital learning competencies for teachers and administrators in her pivotal role as the North Carolina state director of digital teaching and learning. 

Previously to her role at the EdTech Hub, Ms. Lalbeharie served as the managing director for personalised learning at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) where she guided state and local departments of education in consideration and implementation of personalised learning and EdTech initiatives. She led business development for AIR’s portfolio of research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects. She also served as the co-chair of a national steering committee for the EdTech Genome project, a research network creating a framework for supporting informed EdTech purchasing decisions based on evidence.

Ms. Lalbeharie holds a BA from Smith College and a Master of Education from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.