Richard “Lennon” Audrain (enrolled member of the Shawnee Tribe and Cherokee Nation) is a research assistant professor in Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation. He leads the educator pathways, innovation and policy initiatives for the Next Education Workforce Initiative. Previously, he led an $8.2 million U.S. Department of Education Teacher & School Leader grant, awarded to ASU in partnership with Mesa Public Schools, to redesign human capital management systems to support the design, building, and scale of team-based staffing models across the district.
Lennon is a former Latin, Spanish, and English teacher in both Arizona and Massachusetts. Currently, he serves as the Executive Board President of the National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs. He is also the former national president of Educators Rising, a grow-your-own program for high school students interested in the education profession. Lennon’s research and scholarly creativity concentrate on:
- District, state and federal policy that enables the design, build, and scale of team-based staffing models
- Cross-workforce comparisons of systems of recruitment, preparation, and staffing
- Grow-your-own teacher programs (high school teacher academies, registered apprenticeships, paraeducator pathways)
- Community college teacher education programs
- Teacher preparation of Native American educators
- Identity and preparation of teacher educators
- The Catholic School Teacher Workforce
Lennon’s publications have appeared in The New Educator and Education Week. He has appeared on and in media outlets such as Indian Country Today and Arizona PBS. His books include The Next Education Workforce (co-authored, Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) and Unlocking the Power of Team-based Staffing (co-authored, Harvard Education Press, forthcoming 2025).
Lennon earned his PhD in educational policy and evaluation from Arizona State University in May 2023. He was the youngest graduate from both his Master's classes at Arizona State University and Harvard University. He earned his first Master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Arizona State University at age 19 and his second Master’s degree in technology, innovation, and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education at age 21.