The Rare Model Assessment Team

Emilie Clucas Leaderman, Ed.D.

Higher Education Leader & Assessment Innovation Expert

Dr. Emilie Clucas Leaderman is a transformational higher education leader who bridges the gap between assessment, equity, and learner-centered teaching. As Dean of Academic Pathways and Learning Innovation at American International College—a Hispanic Serving Institution in Western Massachusetts—she leads comprehensive undergraduate academic assessment, library services, career development, and faculty excellence initiatives.

Her track record speaks for itself: Dr. Clucas Leaderman has secured over $320,000 in competitive grants for equity-focused initiatives and currently manages a $500,000 Title III grant while directing the innovative APEX Program for Excellence, which redesigns curriculum for academic and professional readiness for first-year students and those preparing for internships. Her work spans curriculum redesign incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy and AI literacy, faculty development programs serving 250+ educators, and the creation of professional learning communities focused on relationship-rich teaching practices.

At the forefront of educational innovation: Selected as Team Lead for both the CIC AI Ready: Building & Launching Together (2025-26) and the prestigious AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum (2024-25), she's pioneering institutional AI literacy frameworks that balance technological advancement with pedagogical integrity. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Boston College's Woods College of Advancing Studies, where she teaches positive psychology courses.

Recognized thought leadership: Her scholarship centers on collaborative assessment practice, with a forthcoming book from Routledge (February 2026) tentatively titled Nurturing Relationships in Higher Education: A Model for Collaborative Assessment Practice. She is co-creator of the acclaimed RARE Model Framework for relational assessment leadership, featured in multiple peer-reviewed publications and keynote presentations nationwide.


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Consulting Expertise

  • Assessment Strategy & Culture Development: Collaborative assessment frameworks, program review transformation, and data-informed decision making that drives institutional change

  • Faculty Development & Educational Innovation: Equity-minded teaching practices, relationship-rich education, and strategic AI integration in pedagogy

  • Institutional Strategic Planning: Retention initiatives, academic program development, and cross-divisional partnerships that improve student outcomes

  • Equity & Inclusion: Culturally responsive curriculum design, achievement gap analysis, and inclusive teaching practices with measurable impact

Educational Foundation: Dr. Clucas Leaderman earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Higher Education from Endicott College, where her doctoral research explored faculty motivation and institutional culture for learner-centered teaching. With over 15 years of experience spanning community colleges, private universities, and consulting engagements, she brings both rigorous scholarship and practical implementation expertise to every project.

Ready to transform your institution's approach to assessment and innovation? Dr. Clucas Leaderman is available for institutional consulting, professional development workshops, keynote presentations, and assessment culture transformation initiatives.

A transformational leader in higher education assessment who bridges research, practice, and collaboration to create meaningful cultures of learning.

As a counselor educator and assessment consultant, she has over a decade of experience in student learning assessment, program evaluation, and faculty engagement across diverse institutional contexts.

She served on the Executive Board for the Virginia Assessment Group (2018–2022) and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) and as Associate Editor for Research & Practice in Assessment (RPA) since 2020. In 2023, Dr. Polychronopoulos co-edited a special issue of RPA on assessment professional identity and was invited to speak on the closing panel at AALHE’s national conference to discuss the national landscape of higher education assessment.

Her signature contribution is the co-creation of the RARE Model, a relationship-centered, strengths-based framework designed to humanize the assessment process and foster authentic collaboration. Since its initial publication in 2019, Dr. Polychronopoulos has authored multiple publications and delivered keynotes, webinars, and workshops on building RARE assessment cultures, including a 2022 keynote at the New England Educational Assessment Network (NEean) Fall Forum.

Dr. Polychronopoulos earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, as well as an M.S.Ed in Counseling and an M.S. in Psychology, from Old Dominion University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Virginia and approaches her work with a person-centered, strengths-based philosophy that integrates assessment, equity, and learner-centered teaching.



Dr. Gina B. Polychronopoulos

Catalog of Professional Works in Higher Education Assessment

RARE Model 

Professional Identity

Other Invited Presentations