Tracey Burns

Tracey Burns is Chief, Global Strategy and Research at the National Center on Education and the Economy in Washington, DC. Previously she was Chief of Research for the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation at the OECD. She has additionally served as an Expert for multiple OECD/UNESCO Commissions, and is a member of TeachAI’s Advisory Committee, guiding education leaders on the safe, effective, and responsible use of AI in education.

Tracey’s most recent publications include Education as a Social Determinant [with Charles Ungerleider, 2025], The NCEE Blueprint: Designing Systems that work [2024], The evolution of evidence informed policy and practice: An international perspective (2023), What Schools for the Future? Leadership for Uncertainty (2022); OECD Trends Shaping Education 2022; Back to the Future of Education: Four OECD Scenarios for Schooling (2020); Education in the Digital Age: Happy and Healthy Children (2020).

Tracey began her career researching language acquisition in children and newborn infants. She holds a B.A. from McGill University, Canada, and a PhD in experimental psychology from Northeastern University, USA.