Leiah Groom-Thomas
​​Director of Education

Leiah Groom-Thomas is the Director of Education for Final Third Foundation (F3). She is responsible for the development, implementation, evaluation, and expansion of F3's Soccer & Literacy programming. Her expertise includes facilitating children's language and literacy development and identifying evidence-based practices to support reading and comprehension. Leiah is a Research Project Manager at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University where she works at the intersection of research and practice. Most importantly, she shares F3's goal of providing high-quality learning experiences for all students in the community.

​Leiah holds an M.A. in Reading and Literacy in Early and Middle Childhood and a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from The Ohio State University. Her background as a practitioner informs her work and scholarly interests. Leiah is in the final stages of receiving her Ph.D from Ohio State with a dissertation focusing on examining the language learning opportunities and outcomes of an early childhood education program aimed at closing the reading achievement gap. Leiah has worked with numerous educators, administrators, and school districts over the past 10 years.

Prior to Brown University, Leiah was a Graduate Research Associate at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy at Ohio State. Prior to Ohio State, Leiah was a teacher at Grace Christian School in Blacklick, Ohio, where she also assisted in organizing and operating various camp programs. Leiah currently lives in Upper Arlington with her husband, Jonathan.