Maria S. Cormier conducts qualitative research on workforce development, developmental education reform, teaching and learning, and student experiences at community colleges. She is the director of two CCRC projects: Exploring the Implications of Rapid Technological Change on Community College Workforce Training and Aligning Community College Credit and Noncredit Workforce Education Programs: An Examination of Emerging Practices. She has previously contributed to CCRC projects including Scaling Innovation in the Community College, Analysis of Statewide Developmental Education Reform, CUNY Start Evaluation, Scaling CUNY’s ASAP Program at Bronx Community College, and Postsecondary Language and Literacy Learning (PL3). Cormier also co-wrote an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed with CCRC's Jim Jacobs titled, "Workforce Development and an Opportunity for Change" in May 2020.
Cormier holds a PhD in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her dissertation examined the relationship between institutional and cultural understandings of education and community-based learning. She has worked as a consultant for the Web Alignment Tool, a program designed to evaluate the degree of alignment between state educational standards and state assessment tools across the country. She has also worked with the National Academy for Excellent Teaching (NAfET), where she conducted research on a professional development program for small high schools in New York City.
