Elizabeth (Bess) Long

Ms. Long is a senior education research specialist with decades of classroom experience, knowledge of early grade reading and math and continuous professional development, as well as program management skills. She spent over 20 years working as a classroom teacher and instructional coach in the United States, South America, Africa, and India. Her transition to the education development field began in Ghana where she managed a USAID-funded program, responsible for revising the national standardized assessments for literacy and math. Ms. Long went on to work as an Early Grade Literacy expert in Laos and Equatorial Guinea and later as a Curriculum Materials Development expert in Laos and Sierra Leone.

Ms. Long joined RTI in 2017 by supporting the MERIT: Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity in Malawi as a Literacy Materials Development Specialist. Her tenure with RTI continued to include positions in Tanzania as Senior Project Management Specialist/Reading Advisor and in Uzbekistan as Instructional Materials Development Manager. A native English speaker, Ms. Long also speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and basic Swahili. As a member of RTI’s Teaching and Learning team, Ms. Long currently supports the USAID Jifunze Uelewe Activity in Tanzania.