John Mergendoller

Former Executive Director of the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), Novato, CA (USA).

He was Executive Director of BIE from 2000 to 2015, guiding its growth and building its reputation for high-quality work. He joined BIE in 1989 as Director of Research and was responsible for conducting research on the impact of BIE’s Project-Based Economics Units on student learning.

Before joining BIE, he was Senior Director of Programs at Far West Laboratory (now WestEd), a federally funded regional educational laboratory. At Far West, he also established and managed the At-Risk-of-Exclusion Students Program and the High School Improvement Program.

His publications cover educational technology, science education, middle grades reform, and project-based learning.

John has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology and Education from the University of Michigan, an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. He received a Fulbright scholarship to study cognitive development at the University of Geneva.