Caryn Ward, PhD, is the director of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She provides intensive, informed implementation supports to state and local education systems nationally through her work as the director of the State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices Center and leadership team member for Region 7 Comprehensive Center. She has also served in a leadership position for the Center on School Turnaround and National Center for Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning. Dr. Ward has served as PI of several implementation and outcome evaluations and psychometric studies. For example, she led the evaluation of MTSS in the thirteenth largest LEA in the country, led technical adequacy evaluation of the District Capacity Assessment (DCA), and leads the Effective Implementation Cohort Learning Partner for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on improving outcomes for students who are Black, Latino/a, an English Learner, and/or experiencing poverty. Previously, she provided direct and indirect services as a school psychologist, a Response to Intervention (RTI) district coordinator, and the project director for the North Carolina RTI Consortium.