Mera Keltner Dougherty is Head of K-12 Partnerships at Playlab, a nonprofit where educators, students, and communities develop AI agency by designing and building their own AI tools. Across her career, Mera’s work has been about making sure students and communities have the supports they need to reach the goals that matter most to them, and that they are in the driver’s seat of designing their own futures. She has led at every level of public education, as a teacher, founding principal, and Vice President of Schools. She is a 2019 BES Growth Track Fellow and founded Compass Rose: Destiny in Austin, TX.
At Playlab, she leads partnerships with schools, districts, and statewide AI ecosystems across the country, supporting educators and students as they build AI tools around their own goals and priorities. She earned her undergraduate degree in neuroscience and Latinx studies at Columbia University and a master’s in childhood literacy from Hunter College. She lives in Austin with her family.
