• Michael McGarrah, Ph.D.

    Michael McGarrah, Ph.D.

    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…

  • Lydia Malley

    Lydia Malley

    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.…

  • Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.

    Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.

    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…

  • David Richards, Ph.D.

    David Richards, Ph.D.

    Since 2015, David Richards worked as a study director at the National Center for Education Statistics, in the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences, with responsibility for large, nationally-representative postsecondary sample survey studies.

  • Michelle McNamara

    Michelle McNamara

    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…

  • Kathleen Flanagan, Ph.D.

    Kathleen Flanagan, Ph.D.

    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.

  • Carolyn Grim, Ph.D.

    Carolyn Grim, Ph.D.

    Dr. Grim is an education statistics and psychometrics expert with extensive experience in test development, survey methodology, and quantitative analysis. Her strategic insights and advanced statistical modeling using SPSS, R, and specialized psychometric software result in valid and reliable instruments for scales that yield precise, data-driven decisions. She specializes in enhancing data collection processes and…

  • Elise Christopher, Ph.D.

    Elise Christopher, Ph.D.

    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…