Debbie Zacarian, Ed.D. & Associates, LLC is a woman-owned consulting business specializing in policy and practice, strategic planning, evaluation, coaching, innovation, and professional development for educators and professionals working with linguistically diverse populations. Our ‘credo’ is achievement through access and engagement. Our mission is to provide expertise to school districts, state and federal education agencies, professional and research organizations, universities, and others seeking sustained solutions to strengthen achievement and outcomes.

Debbie Zacarian

Dr. Debbie Zacarian is an internationally recognized leader in strengths-based education, specializing in inclusive systems, leadership, and policy that improve outcomes for multilingual learners and students experiencing adversity. With more than 30 years of experience as a district administrator, university faculty member, and leader of an educational service agency, she integrates research, policy, and practice to help schools and organizations create meaningful and lasting change.

Her background in clinical psychology and educational policy, research, and administration informs an approach grounded in how students, families, educators, and leaders experience systems. As founder of Zacarian & Associates, she partners with schools, universities, and organizations worldwide to design and implement high-impact professional learning, strategic initiatives, and policy frameworks. Through keynotes, workshops, mentoring, and consulting, she helps educators and leaders apply research in practical ways to strengthen teaching, learning, and student outcomes.

A best-selling author and widely respected thought leader, Dr. Zacarian has written influential books, journal articles, and policies focused on educational equity, inclusion, and belonging. Her work is grounded in the belief that every learner, especially multilingual students and those facing adversity, deserves not only equitable opportunities but also a sense of connection, purpose, and respect. Through her writing and speaking, she equips educators and leaders with practical tools to build inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive, contribute, and flourish.

Her professional books include:

• Identity Safe Spaces at Home and Schools: Partnering to Overcome Inequity (co-written with Becki Cohn-Vargas)
• Transforming Schools for Multilingual Learners: A Comprehensive Guide for Educators, 2nd edition
• Beyond Crises: Overcoming Linguistic and Cultural Inequities in Communities, Schools, and Classrooms (co-written with Margarita Espino Calderón and Margo Gottlieb)
• Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (co-written with Ivannia Soto)
• Teaching to Empower: Taking Action to Foster Student Agency, Self-Confidence, and Collaboration (co-written with Michael Silverstone)
• Teaching and Supporting Students Living with Adversity.  Quick Reference Guide.  (co-written with Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz)
• Breaking Down the Wall: Essential Shifts in for English Learners’ Success (co-written with Margarita Espino Calderón, Maria G. Dove, Diane Staehr Fenner, Margo Gottlieb, Andrea Honigsfeld, Tonya Ward Singer, Shawn Slakk, and Ivannia Soto)
• Teaching To Strengths: Supporting Students Living With Trauma, Violence & Chronic Stress (co-written with Lourdes-Alvarez-Ortiz and Judie Haynes)
• In It Together: How partnerships with students, families, and communities advance engagement and achievement in diverse classrooms (co-written with Michael Silverstone)
• Mastering Academic Language: a framework for supporting student achievement
• The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners (co-written with Judie Haynes)
• Transforming Schools for English learners: a comprehensive framework for school leaders
• Teaching English Language Learners Across the Content Areas (co-written with Judie Haynes)

Policy and Leadership Contributions

Dr. Zacarian has contributed to state, district, and national initiatives focused on multilingual learners, inclusive systems, and educational equity. Her work includes developing language education policies for Boston Public Schools and other districts nationwide, consulting with state education and early childhood agencies, and authoring Serving Multilingual Learners: Laws, Policies, and Regulations (2nd ed., 2025) for Colorín Colorado.

For over a decade, Dr. Zacarian served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts. She was also the founder and director of the Center for English Language Education and Advancing Student Achievement at the Collaborative for Educational Services, and the founding director of Amherst Public Schools’ bilingual and English learner programming. Under her leadership, the district received local, state, and national recognition for its work with multilingual learners.