Research Discipline/Bio
Trevor Baisden is a Ph.D. candidate in Education Policy (K-12) at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also helps lead the annual Washington, D.C.-based Federal Policy Institute. His research interests include the organizational dynamics of school change and policy implementation, in U.S. and international contexts; federal K-12 policy and school improvement; and issues in both private and public school choice, especially charter schools. His dissertation explores organizational principles and practices in contemporary “mom and pop,” or freestanding, charter schools, and how these schools are responding to a rapidly evolving school choice landscape in the United States. Trevor began his career as a teacher, and later founded and led the History program at a New York City-based charter school network. He has since led research and consulting projects focused on school design, innovation, and improvement in over 50 charter and district systems across more than a dozen states.
Educational Background
Master of Arts, Sociology and Education, Teachers College, 2022
Master of Arts in Teaching, Childhood Education (1-6), Relay Graduate School of Education, 2014
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of Rochester, 2012
Honors/Awards
LGBTQ+ Community Group Co-Chair, Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP);
Mentorship Co-Chair, American Educational Research Association (AERA)'s Organizational Theory Special Interest Group;
Education Policy Dissertation Research Fellowship, Teachers College, 2025-26;
Study Abroad Scholarship (Morocco), TC Center on African Education, 2025;
International Travel Grant (Uganda), TC Office of Global Engagement, 2025;
Provost’s Grant for Conference Presentation, Teachers College, 2025
Publications/Exhibitions
Baisden, T. W. & Huerta, L. A. (2025, March). A trojan horse to homeschoolers?: Conflicting perspectives on universal Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Washington, DC.
Huerta, L. A., Koutsavlis, S. J., & Baisden, T. W. (2025, February). Evolving tax credit scholarship and education savings account policies in the United States: The path to universal private school choice programs. In A. Zancajo, C. Fontdevila, H. Jabbar & A. Verger (Eds.), Research Handbook on Education Privatization and Marketization. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Huerta, L. A. & Baisden, T. W. (2024, September). Strengthening oversight of education savings account (ESA) funding for private and at-home schooling. National Education Policy Center. Boulder, CO.
Baisden, T. W. (2024, May). None of the above: Reimagining student and school assessment and crafting a new narrative to lead school-based change. Paper presented at the 2024 Equity Now Conference, Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of School, New York University, New York, NY.
Baisden, T. W. (2024, March). Who calls the shots in urban charter schools?: A comparative case study of influence over school leaders’ decision-making. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Baltimore, MD.
Baisden, T. W. (2022, May). Emerging equity entrepreneurs: School leaders’ perspectives on educational equity and organizational change in urban charter schools. Paper presented at the annual Integrative Research Project symposium of the Sociology and Education program, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Last Updated: Jun 18, 2025