Meet Our 2026 Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence

We’re honored to welcome Dr. Darris Means as our newest Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence. Darris will work alongside our team to shape the Foundation’s research agenda, help identify where our investments and partnerships can go further, and bring a research-grounded lens to the work we do every day.

This role exists because we believe research matters when it reaches the people it’s meant to serve, including educators, families, policymakers, and young people themselves. It’s a belief our co-founder Jackie held throughout her life, and one that continues to guide how we think about knowledge, discovery, and impact.

A native of South Carolina and a first-generation college graduate, Darris has spent the past 20 years advancing in a range of roles, including administrator of a college access and success program, and now as a tenured Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University, whose research focuses on educational opportunity and rural education. He serves as President-Elect of the National Rural Education Association.

The Researcher in Residence Position

Darris brings a rare combination of scholarly rigor and experience of what educational access really requires,” said Jody Rosentswieg, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Bezos Family Foundation. “His partnership with rural communities and first-generation students will push our thinking in exactly the ways this program was designed for.”

Below, Darris tells us more about his personal and professional journey in his own words.

Tell us about where you’re from. How has place shaped how you think about educational opportunities?

I am from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Spartanburg County is in Upstate South Carolina between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. I was raised by a single mother and later by my grandparents, with support from my aunts and uncles. I am a Head Start alum and attended public K-12 schools in Spartanburg. Place has been an important theme across my research. I have studied how place shapes belonging in education, how place shapes access to resources and opportunities, and how place can provide access to assets and networks to support how students thrive in education. Conversations related to space and place are critical to developing and sustaining more equitable educational ecosystems.

What drew you to this role at this moment in your career?

Throughout my career, I have sought ways to translate my research and scholarship into practice and policy. This has become even more important to me as I was promoted to a full professor in Fall 2024. When I saw the position to serve as the Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence, I knew it would be an opportunity to continue to translate my research and scholarship to practice, and I saw the role as a professional and educational experience to learn more about the role of philanthropy in higher education.

You’ve spent 20 years working on educational access and opportunity. What have you seen shift in the field? Where are you energized, looking ahead?

Across my career, I have seen a growing public distrust in educational systems, which has materialized in a significant disinvestment or questioning of resources and opportunities that support youth learning, development, and postsecondary education pathways. As a scholar, I believe it is my responsibility to collaborate with scholars, educators, youth, families, and policymakers to use research and scholarship to improve practice and policy and to translate the significance of investing in educational access and opportunity. As the Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence, I am energized to learn how to better connect philanthropy, higher education, and youth-serving organizations to elevate educational access and opportunity.

The Researcher in Residence is a full-time, year-long position for scholars in education and related fields. In this role, researchers serve as internal experts, contribute thought leadership, lead research projects, and engage with leading minds in the field. Together with the Foundation’s team, they help expand research investments across critical and emerging areas, strengthening the research pipeline and advancing participatory research. Stay tuned to hear key insights from his work at the Foundation.