Merrianne Dyer holds a Ph. D. in Educational Policy -Social Foundations from Georgia State University. She completed institutes at Harvard's Principals Center and Graduate School of Education and the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Executive Leadership Program. Dr. Dyer led Gainesville City Schools, GA in a five-year research study on addressing barriers to learning with the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools. She is a certified Dropout Prevention Specialist and on the faculty of Trauma Skilled Schools certification for the National Dropout Prevention Network. She offers a school and community leadership perspective towards addressing issues of race as a support for learning.