Designing and Scaling Research-Informed Academic Systems

Rebecca A. Stone-Danahy, Ed.D., provides executive-level leadership for complex arts education initiatives integrating curriculum, assessment, research, and professional learning. Her work spans independent schools, national nonprofit organizations, and large-scale educational systems, with a consistent focus on rigor, equity, and long-term sustainability.

Across roles, she has built academic systems serving tens of thousands of students, strengthened distributed educator networks, and aligned research with measurable institutional outcomes.

National Program Leadership

As Director II for AP Art and Design at the College Board, Rebecca leads curriculum, assessment, and research translation for a global program serving more than 85,000 students annually.

Her leadership includes:

  • Overseeing the evaluation of 82,000+ student portfolios each year, partnering with psychometricians to ensure validity, reliability, and equitable assessment practices

  • Co-directing a fully digital national Reading of approximately 400 secondary and postsecondary educators

  • Designing governance and performance frameworks formalizing accountability and decision-making at scale

  • Developing internationally adopted curriculum frameworks and professional learning models

  • Driving 120% growth in 3-D Art and Design participation and 24% overall program growth

She conceived and scaled the AP Art and Design Exhibit, transforming assessment into an internationally recognized public research and thought leadership initiative.

Systems Strategy & Institutional Sustainability

Rebecca integrates strategic planning, governance design, and performance systems to ensure institutional coherence and long-term viability.

Her systems leadership includes:

  • Developing multi-year strategic growth plans across independent and national contexts

  • Advising executive and board leadership on academic strategy and sustainability

  • Designing accountability and evaluation frameworks supporting continuous improvement

  • Leading cross-functional teams spanning research, technology, and publications divisions

Within independent schools, she directed capital and operating budgets, aligned program growth with enrollment strategy, partnered with advancement teams on donor initiatives, and led revenue-generating programs designed for long-term sustainability.

Her work consistently aligns mission, academic rigor, and operational stewardship.

Research Translation & Field-Level Impact

Grounded in systems improvement science, Rebecca advances a model in which assessment, professional learning, and governance operate as integrated systems.

Her impact includes:

  • Partnering with research teams to design and interpret validity studies informing policy and instructional practice

  • Developing research-informed curriculum frameworks adopted internationally

  • Building scalable digital ecosystems supporting distributed educator communities

  • Presenting nationally on assessment integrity, inquiry-based learning, and systems improvement

Through this work, she strengthens arts education as a rigorous, research-informed discipline.

Distributed & Digital Leadership

Rebecca leads at scale in fully digital and geographically distributed environments. She integrates research, technology, and professional learning to ensure quality, consistency, and collaboration across national networks.

She welcomes collaboration with institutions and organizations seeking to design research-informed, financially sustainable systems that advance arts education.

For a full professional portfolio or leadership dossier, contact Rebecca A. Stone-Danahy