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.

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.

With over 16 years of experience as a leader within the U.S. Department of Education, public service is the foundation of my career. I excel in building programs, fostering collaboration, and making data accessible to drive decisions–including qualitative data. I thrive on creating lasting connections (within and beyond the education sector) among stakeholders with differing perspectives and experiences. During my tenure at the Department, my work included:

1) U.S. Department of Education-wide Lead for implementing Office of Management & Budget’s revised race/ethnicity standards across the Department and the entire U.S. education system; 2) Project Director for the National Indian Education Study, the largest nationally representative data collection of American Indian and Alaska Native students in the country; 3) Task Leader for all National Assessment of Educational Progress Survey Questions; and 4) U.S. Delegate (elected 2025 chair) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s “NESLI Network” – the collection and reporting of system-level descriptive information on educational structures, policies and practices related to education systems.

Kristi is a sociologist with expertise in research design, data analysis, and stakeholder communications. At NCES, she led the Digest of Education Statistics, which is a core statistical reference that covers education topics from early childhood to K-12, post-secondary, and adult outcomes, all across several equity dimensions. Her prior experience includes working with state and local education organizations, including the city of Newark, NJ, and Saint Louis Public Schools, on community-driven research projects. Kristi has more than 10 years of experience with quantitative data analysis and writing for technical and non-technical audiences.

Kathleen Flanagan has led numerous evaluation and large-scale assessment projects. Innovative course modules that show educators how to take charge of classroom and school outcomes are available at chartingyourowncourse.com.

Bridge builder, coordinating multiple partner teams on driving scalable, evidence-based solutions. Manage complex projects, supervising teams and aligning protocols with regulatory and compliance standards. Translate data into actionable insights, and foster collaboration across mission-driven organizations and clients. Adaptable, detail-oriented, and proactive, with strong track record in relationship-building, seeking feedback, and analytical thinking. Passionate about data quality, staff development, creating innovative tools, delivering measurable outcomes, strengthening programs and informing policy.

Lisa Kessler is an experienced Education Research Analyst with a strong track record in school recruitment for large-scale national studies. She excels at building relationships with states, districts and schools, navigating complex approval processes, and meeting ambitious participation goals. With a Master of Education and a data-driven mindset, she translates recruitment outcomes into actionable insights to inform project strategies. Lisa is passionate about using research to elevate student outcomes and ensure diverse voices are represented in education studies.

Using strategic planning and data-driven decision-making to stimulate organizational dynamics and influence scales of effectiveness, Jerry Malitz helps clients successfully launch, analyze, and redesign programs and processes to support data and research priorities. By helping align requirements with client and user needs, by conducting targeted reviews, by developing effective processes, and through targeted training, technical assistance and data coaching, Malitz provides innovative, effective, and timely data and research solutions to clients, their staff, and customers.

At the U.S. Department of Education, Jerry Malitz served in a senior leadership role as the first Chief Information Technology Officer at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In this role he conceptualized, designed, and implemented information technologies across the Institute. Prior to that he served as the Chief Technology Officer and Webmaster at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), where he was the creative director in spearheading improvements in serving the needs of customers, management, and staff through the NCES website. Before taking those positions at IES and NCES, Malitz was responsible for the initial development of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the Course Classification System, the Student and the Staff Data Handbooks for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood Education. He led the Migrant Student Record Exchange Task Force, and he was the U.S. Department of Education’s project director for the SPEEDE/ExPRESS project as well as managing several surveys including NPSAS, IPEDS, and VEDS.

Mr. Malitz has produced several books, videos, and training sessions on data use and on the use of technology in education, and he has designed numerous applications for the dissemination and collection of information through the web.

Mr. Malitz continues to work with federal agencies, associations, State Education Departments, and postsecondary institutions, designing research approaches, putting the proper data tools at the disposal of education practitioners, and providing instruction on how to best use them to inform decision-making.

Experienced in project coordination, stakeholder collaboration, data reporting, technical writing and editing, and strategic planning. Lydia has over 10 years of experience leading large-scale international assessments and both qualitative and quantitative education research projects, managing interactive data tools, and translating complex findings into clear, actionable insights.

Most recently at NCES, Lydia served as the U.S. Study Director and National Research Coordinator for the 2019 and 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In December 2024, Lydia presented key findings from the TIMSS 2023 U.S. Highlights Report to the Secretary of Education, White House staff and Congressional offices. In addition, she prepared presentations and press releases and led preparation for the NCES Commissioner’s media briefing, resulting in accurate and impactful national media coverage.

Michael McGarrah is a social science researcher and policy strategist with 15 years of experience leading research and consulting projects across government, academia, think tanks, advocacy organizations, and nonprofit research institutes. His work focuses on translating rigorous, policy-relevant research into actionable insights that improve systems, advance opportunity, and support healthy human development.

Michael combines deep methodological expertise with an unusually broad cross-sector perspective. He has led large national surveys at the U.S. Department of Education, conducted program evaluations for U.S. and international school systems and NGOs, advised philanthropic foundations, consulting firms, and advocacy coalitions, taught graduate-level social science courses at Harvard, and instructed bilingual middle and high school students across multiple subjects in Spain as a Fulbright Scholar. This diverse experience enables him to understand the priorities and language of stakeholders at every level—from federal agencies and state/local policymakers to program managers, educators, and community members—and to communicate research findings in a way that informs action and drives impact across education, public health, criminal justice, and workforce development initiatives.

As the Study Director for the Crime and Safety Surveys Program, as well as a statistician and Contracting Officer’s Representative at the National Center for Education Statistics, Michael oversaw a $30 million federal research portfolio of complex sample surveys and managed a team of 25+ researchers and policy analysts. He led partnerships with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Justice, managed large-scale data collection efforts on school crime, bullying, student safety, and substance use, and piloted methodological innovations including web-scraping and AI-based surveillance of emergency school closures and school shootings. He is also a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, where he studies early risk factors for youth substance abuse and delinquency.

Michael’s technical toolkit spans experimental and quasi-experimental design, causal inference, mixed-methods program evaluation, and psychometrics. He has extensive experience using Stata, R, Mplus, NVivo, and Tableau, and has led or advised evaluations of educational interventions, youth mental health programs, social-emotional learning, and career pathway initiatives in both U.S. and global contexts. He specializes in designing and implementing studies that balance scientific rigor with practical constraints—producing findings that are not just valid, but usable.

His content expertise spans the full arc of human development—from infancy and early childhood through adolescence and adulthood—with particular depth in the areas of social-emotional learning and “soft” or “non-cognitive” skill development, youth substance abuse prevention, school safety and juvenile justice, career pathways, and higher education administration and policy. He holds a PhD in Human Development from Harvard, where his dissertation focused on identifying profiles of developmental risk for youth substance abuse to inform early intervention. He also earned a Credential of Business Readiness from Harvard Business School and a teaching certificate from the Harvard Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.

Whether designing large-scale evaluations, advising on survey methods, or helping organizations clarify and communicate their impact, Michael brings a systems-focused, human-centered approach to his work. He thrives in projects that demand both technical precision and thoughtful translation—connecting data to real-world decision-making to help programs and policies better serve the people they’re meant to support.

Experienced in research design, project management, and evaluating school-based interventions in K-12 settings.

Michelle has worked as an evaluator for multiple classroom intervention programs using qualitative and quantitative methods. Most recently, Michelle served as the Survey Director for the National Household Education surveys program at NCES which collected information on parents’ involvement in their children’s schooling and use of child care.