
Project Management

At Agora Education Services, we provide expert project management services for research projects and studies involving data collection at the national, state, and local education levels. Our team ensures efficient planning, execution, and oversight of research initiatives, from coordinating large-scale data collection efforts to managing timelines, resources, and compliance requirements. With a deep understanding of education policy and research methodologies, we help organizations and institutions streamline complex projects, ensuring high-quality data and impactful results that drive informed decision-making.
Service Providers

Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.
Associate
- aaliakreyi@edevaluator.org
- Chantilly, VA
- Survey & Program areas:IPEDS, National Studies
- Service:Data Analysis, Reporting, Test and Survey
- Employment type:Contract, Full time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.
Associate
Aida Ali Akreyi is a research and data strategy expert with over a decade of experience in federal data collection, institutional research, and education policy. Most recently, she served as Statistician and IPEDS Operations Lead at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, where she directed national postsecondary data collection, compliance, and reporting initiatives, ensuring data integrity, accessibility, and usability. Aida brings deep expertise in leading large-scale research projects, developing performance metrics, and translating complex data into actionable insights for policymakers, institutional leaders, and the public. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and Policy from the University of California, Riverside, and is passionate about using data to inform systems change and expand opportunity.

Melanie Ali, Ph.D.
Associate
- Burke, VA
- Service:Project Leadership, Reporting
- Employment type:Contract, Full time, Part time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Melanie Ali, Ph.D.
Associate
Dr. Ali is a seasoned education evaluation and research leader. As a research analyst and branch chief for the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, she designed and led large-scale mixed-methods implementation and impact studies. These included studies of educator preparation and development programs, educator performance evaluation systems, postsecondary access strategies, and career pathways programming for youth and adults.

Meredith Bachman, Ph.D.
- Washington, DC
- Employment type:Contract, Part time
- Work site:Local to me, Remote
Meredith Bachman, Ph.D.
Meredith is an accomplished education research scientist, policy analyst, and behavioral psychologist. She has over 15 years of experience designing policy relevant studies using a range of methods, including large-scale nationally representative surveys, randomized controlled trials, and other techniques to evaluate implementation and impact.
She excels at translating complex data into clear action oriented findings and presenting findings through accessible presentations and written products. Her content expertise includes school choice policies and programs, accountability, information dissemination, and family engagement.

Laura Bellows, Ph.D.
Associate
- Charlottesville, VA
- Survey & Program areas:State-level Studies
- Service:Data Analysis, Reporting, State and District
- Employment type:Contract
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Laura Bellows, Ph.D.
Associate
Laura is a social policy scholar with wide-ranging interests in U.S. domestic policy and particular interests in sometimes hard-to-identify populations (immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ individuals). She has training in causal inference and demography, as well as extensive expertise working with large-scale administrative data. She also has a long-time interest in collaborating with state agencies and non-profits. She has a B.A. in History and English from Rice University, a MPA from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Duke University.
Chad Bridgeman
Webmaster
- Employment type:Contract, Full time, Part time
- Work site:Remote
Chad Bridgeman
Webmaster
I am an experienced Web Producer/Accessibility professional with a strong background in accessibility, content management, and digital operations. My specialities include building and managing responsive web pages, ensuring 508-compliant web experiences, and coordinating cross-functional teams. With over a decade of hands-on production and QA experience, I bring a detail-oriented approach to building, maintaining, and optimizing websites that meet both user needs and organizational goals.

Aubrey Brooke
Associate, Webmaster
- Experience:27
- Employment type:Full time
- Work site:Remote
Aubrey Brooke
Associate, Webmaster
Aubrey Brooke has over 20 years of experience designing and developing responsive web applications as a Senior UI/UX Product Designer, specializing in user-centered solutions that resonate with target audiences. Expertise includes leveraging data, user research, and empathy to craft intuitive, engaging, and accessible digital experiences. Proficient in visual design, research, development, and interactivity, with strong leadership skills in guiding teams to successful project outcomes.

Samantha Burg, Ph.D.
Associate
- sburg@edevaluator.org
- Arlington, VA
- Survey & Program areas:ICILS, International Studies, NAEP, PIRLS, PISA, TIMSS
- Service:Data Analysis, Project Leadership, Reporting, State and District, Test and Survey
- Employment type:Full time, Part time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Samantha Burg, Ph.D.
Associate
Experienced leader in large-scale assessment and psychometrics with over 25 years specializing in educational measurement, statistical analysis, and data-driven reporting. Recognized for managing complex national and international assessment programs and coordinating cross-functional teams through all phases of test development, validation, administration, and analysis. Adept at translating sophisticated data into actionable insights and effectively communicating results to all.

Shelley Burns
Associate
- sburns@edevaluator.org
- Springfield, VA
- Service:Data Analysis, Project Leadership, Reporting
- Employment type:Contract, Full time, Part time
- Work site:Local to me, Remote
Shelley Burns
Associate
Experienced mathematical statistician with a wide range of research and analytic skills. In-depth experience with all aspects of survey research, including conceptual development, survey design management, and quantitative data analysis using appropriate statistical methodology. Specific expertise in data confidentiality and statistical disclosure limitation procedures. Effective written and oral communication skills.

Chen-Su Chen, Ph.D.
- Potomac, MD
- Survey & Program areas:CCD, National Studies
- Employment type:Full time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Chen-Su Chen, Ph.D.
Experienced in federal data reporting, data analysis and visualization, research design, and cross-agency collaboration to improve education data systems.
Most recently, at NCES, Chen-Su served as the Survey Director for the Common Core of Data (CCD) Nonfiscal, leading efforts to collect, validate, and release national K–12 education data. She played a key role in modernizing EDFacts data quality checks and supported interagency coordination to improve reporting efficiency. Her work integrates strong technical skills in SAS, SPSS, Excel, and Tableau with a deep commitment to making complex education data accessible and actionable for policymakers, researchers, and the public.

Elise Christopher, Ph.D.
Board of Directors
- Survey & Program areas:High School, National Studies
- Service:Data Analysis, Project Leadership, Reporting
- Employment type:Contract, Full time, Part time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote
Elise Christopher, Ph.D.
Board of Directors
Experienced in team leadership, project management, oral and written presentation, recruitment and outreach, Elise brings passion and focus to her projects.
Most recently, at NCES, Elise managed six simultaneous large, nationally representative longitudinal studies of high schoolers into adulthood, resulting in the release of over 10 national-level datasets of survey and administrative data with supporting documentation and supplementary tables. Every product release was on-budget and on-schedule, meeting Congressional mandates for NCES data release and NCES Standards for high data quality.

Anne Clark, Ph.D.
- 2010aclark@gmail.com
- Nottingham, MD
- Survey & Program areas:Elementary School, High School, Middle Grades, National Studies
- Employment type:Full time
- Work site:Hybrid, Local to me, Remote, Willing to relocate
Anne Clark, Ph.D.
Dr. Clark has 15 years of experience designing and managing research projects in the federal government, academia, and the non-profit sector. She excels at manipulating and analyzing large, complex data sets, as well as translating complicated findings for non-technical audiences. Most recently, she served as a statistician for the Crime and Safety Surveys Program at the National Center for Education Statistics.

Bruce Daniel
- Hollywood, MD
- Survey & Program areas:High School, National Studies, Post-secondary
- Employment type:Part time
