Aída Walqui joined WestEd in 1999 to initiate the Teacher Professional Development Program. As Director of Teacher Professional Development at WestEd, she is responsible for collaborating with ongoing WestEd teacher professional development efforts and leading the evolution of an organizational commitment to supporting teachers throughout their careers from recruitment and preservice through induction and life-long learning.

Previously, Walqui taught in the Division of Education at the University of California , Santa Cruz , and the School of Education at Stanford University , where she coordinated the Cross-Cultural, Linguistic, and Academic Development emphasis in the STEP program. She has also taught in other universities in Peru , Mexico , England , and the United States . She has authored two books for the study of Spanish for Spanish speakers in American schools; a book for teachers of Spanish as a second language in Andean countries; a book on the teaching of indigenous languages in intercultural, bilingual programs; an ethnographic study of immigrant students in secondary schools in the United States; and a number of articles in journals and edited volumes. A member of several national and international teacher professional development advisory boards, Walqui is frequently invited to speak on teacher growth in school contexts characterized by cultural and linguistic diversity.

A native of Peru , Walqui received her Licenciatura in Literature from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos , Peru . She holds an MA in sociolinguistics from Georgetown University ; and a PhD in language, literacy, and culture from Stanford University .