Nonie K Lesaux

Nonie K. Lesaux is a Canadian-American developmental psychologist, academic administrator, and expert in early childhood education and literacy. She is the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she has been a faculty member since 2003. Lesaux's research focuses on improving learning opportunities and literacy outcomes for children from diverse linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Early life and education Lesaux earned a B.A. with honors in psychology from Mount Allison University in 1999. She then attended the University of British Columbia, where she received a M.A. in 2001 and a Ph.D. in educational psychology and special education in 2003. Her doctoral thesis was a five-year longitudinal study on the development of reading in children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. She was appointed interim dean of HGSE on July 1, 2024, succeeding Bridget Terry Long. In March 2025, she was named the permanent dean of the school.

Research and policy work Lesaux's research focuses on the language and literacy skills of children from various backgrounds, often in urban settings.

With Stephanie M. Jones, Lesaux co-directs the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at HGSE.

Lesaux has been actively involved in state and national education policy. From 2015 to 2022, she chaired the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care.