Shelley Pasnik leads and conducts research devoted to understanding how cultural institutions—especially public media, private foundations, and corporate philanthropies—can use emerging technologies to support teaching and learning. As the director of the Center for Children and Technology, she oversees a large staff of researchers, instructional designers, technology specialists, and writers in investigating the roles that technology can play in improving teaching and learning within classrooms, schools, and communities.

Currently, Pasnik serves as the Principal Investigator for the summative evaluation of the Ready to Learn Initiative, a federal research and development program that uses transmedia to improve the math and literacy skills of children ages 2–8, especially those living in poverty. In addition to research and evaluation, she has helped shape national policy, developed public education campaigns, and guided the production of children's educational services, both in the United States and abroad.

Pasnik has collaborated with the US Department of Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Intel Foundation, the American Museum of Natural History, WGBH, Carnegie Hall, Thirteen/WNET, Global Kids, and IBM, among others. She sits on the boards of Global Action Project and Games for Change.

A prominent spokesperson for the responsible role of technology and media in education, Pasnik's work about young people, learning, and media is regularly featured in radio, TV, and internet news outlets such as The New York Times, Financial Times, EdWeek, NPR, Huffington Post, and the MacArthur Foundation’s Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning. She is a frequent presenter at such high profile national forums as The New York Times Schools for Tomorrow and NBC’s Education Nation.

Pasnik's publications include: "Supplementing Literacy Instruction with a Media-Rich Intervention: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial" published in The Early Childhood Research Quarterly,  "iPod in Education: The Potential for Teaching and Learning," and a series of articles for Cable in the Classroom including "Celebrity vs. Celebrated Acts."

She received her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles and her MA from the University of Maryland.