Dr. Courtney Hayes serves as the Director of Business Development at Insight Education Group. In this role, she supports the executive leadership team in all aspects of Insight's business development endeavors, including Insight's strategic direction. As an educator at heart, she is consistently seeking to identify and cultivate relationships with new state education agencies, districts, and schools, as well as develop content and materials to support Insight’s business development efforts as we work together to improve outcomes for every student, every day. Courtney began her career as an early childhood educator in the Washington metropolitan area, where she became a licensed reading specialist and literacy coach. She then transitioned into the international context, serving as a Kindergarten program coordinator at an American school in Spain, as well as as a literacy liaison for a cohort of literacy leaders in Barcelona and Madrid. In addition, Courtney has received several outstanding teaching awards for her work at the university level, particularly for her undergraduate courses on children’s literature.
Courtney holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s Degree in Literacy Leadership for Diverse Schools from George Mason University, and a dual specialization PhD in Literacy(ies), Culture, and Reading and International Education. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research Methods from George Mason University. Courtney believes that early childhood is a critical time for diversity learning, and through her research, she discovered that teachers have the power to promote equitable classrooms by providing mirrors, windows, and doors for students through diverse literature. Her dissertation on teachers’ selection and use of multicultural children’s literature to foster equitable classrooms was nominated for GMU’s 2023 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Courtney maintains an active research agenda and has been published in Reading and Writing Quarterly, Early Childhood Education Journal, and The Teacher Educators' Journal, as well as contributed to several book chapters.
Courtney believes that one marker of a quality educator is one that never stops learning, particularly because students thrive when they experience passionate educators that model, inspire, and challenge them. She is committed to supporting districts as they seek to foster collaboration, engage equity-centered pedagogies, and design professional development that helps educators to hone their craft.