Sara Velia Niño, EDC training and technical assistance (TTA) associate, is an educational equity expert and scholar-practitioner.

Sara brings 20 years of experience in advancing systemic change in education by centering lived experiences; challenging systemic inequities; and supporting the use of effective social-emotional, inclusive, anti-racist, and culturally and linguistically sustaining practices. She also brings extensive expertise in TTA and facilitation, K–12 education, early childhood education, early intervention, inclusion, adult learning, family engagement, research, and policy analysis. Sara is a key member of EDC’s Massachusetts Social, Emotional, and Behavior Academy team.

Before joining EDC, she held leadership, faculty, senior TTA, and educational consultant positions. Sara is a published author and frequent presenter. She was the lead developer of the online hub English Learners with Disabilities and wrote multiple hub resources.

Sara holds an MEd in Special Education from California State University-Fullerton. She is a doctoral candidate at UMass Boston in the Urban Education, Leadership, and Policy Studies program, where her research centers on linguistic justice and the voice and representation of multilingual families in education policy.