Elise Stephenson is the Director of the Professional Development Collaborative at Washington International School. Prior to joining WIS, Elise served as the principal of Sacred Heart School from 2014-2024. In 2020, she was named “Principal of the Year” by the Archdiocese of Washington. Elise is an expert in utilizing research from Project Zero to create a culture of thinking in schools and classrooms. She has served on the faculty of Project Zero Classroom at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and WISSIT since 2014. She has participated in numerous initiatives and research projects with Project Zero including Making Across the Curriculum, JusticexDesign, Children are Citizens, and the DC-Area Playful Schools Network.