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Survey & Program Areas: National Studies

  • Lisa Kessler, M.Ed.

    Lisa Kessler, M.Ed.

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    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…

  • Maura Spiegelman, Ph.D.

    Maura Spiegelman, Ph.D.

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    Maura Spiegelman is a survey methodologist with more than 15 years of experience in social science research. She served as the Study Director for the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) for nearly 10 years, a system of interrelated surveys of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers. She has extensive experience in all…

  • Lee Honeycutt

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    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…

  • Michael McGarrah, Ph.D.

    Michael McGarrah, Ph.D.

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    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…

  • Anne Clark, Ph.D.

    Anne Clark, Ph.D.

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    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…

  • Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.

    Aida Ali Akreyi, Ph.D.

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    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…

  • Chen-Su Chen, Ph.D.

    Chen-Su Chen, Ph.D.

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    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…

  • David Richards, Ph.D.

    David Richards, Ph.D.

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    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

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    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…

  • Carolyn Grim, Ph.D.

    Carolyn Grim, Ph.D.

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    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…