Tracy Li

Tracy Li is a researcher and graduate student at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education, where she is pursuing a Master's degree in Education Data Science. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she has a diverse academic and professional background that includes a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and a Master's from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar, focusing on humanitarian leadership.

Li's research primarily addresses early childhood education in humanitarian contexts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked in Ghana, where she observed significant challenges such as increased dropout rates and learning losses due to prolonged school closures. This experience highlighted the lack of data on effective educational strategies in crisis situations, prompting her to explore how to improve educational outcomes in fragile environments.12

Before her current studies, Li served as an adviser with Innovations for Poverty Action, where she helped develop and scale a play-based kindergarten curriculum in Ghana. She also worked with the Aga Khan Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, designing educational models that supported local entrepreneurs and contributed to various humanitarian projects across Central and South Asia.23

Li is also recognized as one of the 2023 Knight-Hennessy Scholars, a program at Stanford that prepares students for leadership roles in their fields.12 Her commitment to social impact and international development drives her research and collaborative efforts at Stanford, aiming to create effective educational solutions in underserved areas.1