Elizabeth R. Howard is an associate professor of bilingual education in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where she teaches graduate courses on linguistic and cultural diversity and conducts research focusing on dual language education, biliteracy development, and the preparation of teachers to work with multilingual learners.

She is currently the principal investigator of a federally funded grant investigating the development of sociocultural competence in dual language programs and its role in equitable bilingualism and biliteracy attainment. She has also served as a principal investigator or co-PI of several large-scale, federally funded research projects exploring various aspects of the literacy development of bilingual learners, often in the context of dual language programs.

Her books include Realizing the vision of two-way immersion: Fostering effective programs and classrooms, Preparing classroom teachers to succeed with second language learners, and Culturally and linguistically responsive education: Designing networks that transform schools. She is also the lead author of a number of professional resources for dual language educators, including Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education, the Dual Language Program Planner, the Two-Way Immersion Toolkit, and the Two-Way Immersion Observation Protocol (the Dual Language SIOP).

Previously, she has worked as a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics and as a bilingual teacher in California and Costa Rica.