Alumni

The MPES program provides rigorous theoretical and methodological training, allowing fellows to conduct empirical research that is both usable and useful in the education policy and practice worlds.  Upon completing the MPES curriculum, our alumni are well equipped for a variety of careers in education research.  Here are some updates on where previous MPES Cohort fellows are now:

Please contact the program coordinator to update any information.


Eleanor Anderson, Learning Sciences, 2011 MPES Cohort

Lecturer & Research Fellow, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Discourse norms in teacher professional development; factors affecting fidelity of implementation of evidence-based programs; theorizing micro and macro-level mechanisms of stability and change in organizations.


Erin Anderson, Psychology, 2015 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Researcher, Indiana University

Research Projects: Perceptual and Linguistic Factors in Infants’ Relational Learning


Lauren Bauer Lowenstein, Human Development and Social Policy, 2011 MPES Cohort

Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Research Projects: Confidence in public schools; early education interventions and political engagement.


Kelly Becker, Sociology, 2010 MPES Cohort

Associate Director of Student Affairs Assessment, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Long-term outcomes for community college students; understanding differences in teacher retention/attrition in urban, suburban, and rural areas; variations in college counseling and role conceptions by high school SES; role of private scholarships in college entrance; students’ write my coursework expectations of community colleges.


Allena Berry, Learning Sciences, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Historical thinking about race and power dynamics.


Naomi Blaushild, HDSP, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: How school leaders make sense of and approach issues related to teacher retention.


Amelia Branigan, Sociology, 2008 MPES Cohort

Frank H. T. Rhodes Post-doctoral Fellow,  Cornell University

Research Projects: Skin color, body weight, and educational outcomes.


Andrea Kinghorn Busby, HDSP, 2015 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate,  Northwestern University

Research Projects: How children’s multiple environmental contexts relate to their development


Sarah Cannon, Human Development and Social Policy, 2010 MPES Cohort

Postdoctoral Research Fellow,  Education Policy Initiative at Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Research Projects: Rural teacher labor markets.


Bobby Cheon, Psychology, 2008 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Research Projects: Environment interactions in social cognition; cultural variations in mental illness stigma; cultural neuroscience.


Julia Colhoun, Psychology, 2005 MPES Cohort

UX and Web Strategy (freelance)

Research Projects: Inferring higher-order causal relations by analogy; learning and reasoning by analogy.


Lori Delale-O’Connor, Sociology, 2005 MPES Cohort

Associate Professor of Research, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh

Research Projects: Parent involvement in schooling choice; youth development; social contexts of education.


Kaitlyn Fitzgerald, Statistics, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Meta-analysis, causal inference, missing data, and complex sampling design.


Jonathan Gemus, Economics, 2005 MPES Cohort

Transferring Pricing  Senior, Deloitte

Research Projects: Family Background and academic achievement in college.


Lisbeth Goble, Human Development and Social Policy, 2006 MPES Cohort

Senior Survey Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research

Research Projects: College requirements and access; institutional attributes and prediction of individuals’ degree success at two-year colleges


Kelly Hallberg, Human Development and Social Policy, 2009 MPES Cohort

Scientific Director, University of Chicago Urban Education Lab and Crime Lab

Research Projects: Quasi-experimental design in education research, within study comparison, external validity, propensity score matching.


Emily Handsman, Sociology, 2016 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: How different elements of culture affect the kind of education students receive.


Cassandra Hart, Human Development and Social Policy, 2007 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of California-Davis

Research Projects: State and national education policies; school-choice policies and their effects on student incomes.


Olivia Healy, Human Development and Social Policy, 2016 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: The effects of policies supports for low-income parents with young children, those under age five and not yet in formal school, on parent and child outcomes; the extent to which early childhood education programs affect parents’ mental health and economic stability.


Emily Hittner, Human Development and Social Policy, 2016 MPES Cohort

Director of Research, Hinge

Research Projects: How emotional functioning across moments, days, and years predicts well-being and health across the lifespan.


Stuart Jenkins, Human Development and Social Policy, 2011 MPES Cohort

Graduated

Research Projects: School size impacts on cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes; sheepskin effects on labor market outcomes.


Brady Jones, Human Development and Social Policy, 2010 MPES Cohort

Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University, Human Development and Social Policy

Research Projects: The role of personality in teacher retention; healthy personal and career developments in adults.


Ayah Kamel, Human Development and Social Policy, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University, Human Development and Social Policy

Research Projects: School quality; how national, district and school-level policies change the experience of school for students and how this change impacts students’ development on academic and non-academic measures.


Danielle Keifert, Learning Sciences, 2010 MPES Cohort

Postdoctoral Researcher, Exploratorium

Research Projects: Young children’s science learning across home and school settings; the affordances and constraints within and between multiple contexts for learning.


Courtenay Kessler, Learning Sciences, 2015 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: How state-level WIC policies, experiences of adversity, and school-level interactions influence outcomes for families and children


Debbie Kim, Human Development and Social Policy, 2010 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate

Research Projects: Using assessments for instructional improvement; political ideology and education policy.


Elyse Kovalsky, Sociology, 2009 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate

Research Projects: Home foreclosure and educational attainment and college attendance.


Arend Kuyper, Statistics, 2011 MPES Cohort

Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Teacher evaluation using value added models and alternative statistical techniques for teacher evaluations; measurement issues concerning teacher evaluations arising from the use of IRT;integration of big data usage and measurement models to adequately evaluate teachers.


Christopher Lau, Economics, 2011 MPES Cohort

Economist, Federal Trade Commission in the Bureau of Economics, Antitrust II Division

Research Projects: For-profit higher education: evaluating the role of federal financial aid and school accountability; school choice; comparing the benefits of different allocation mechanisms.


Christina Licalsi-Labelle, Human Development and Social Policy, 2009 MPES Cohort

Senior Researcher, Education Program, American Institutes for Research

Research Projects: Impact of local college availability on mothers with low levels of education decisions to return to school; interaction between maternal education, race, and poverty status and school policies; long-run impact of pre-k participation.


Constance Lindsay, Human Development and Social Policy, 2006 MPES Cohort

Professional Lecturer, Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University

Research Projects: Structure and practice of schooling related to gender and racial differences in educational outcomes.


Abraham Lo, Learning Sciences, 2011 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate

Research Projects: Instructional and curricular supports for students’ meaningful engagement in scientific practices; use of professional development to improve teacher noticing in the classroom.


Ananda Marin, Learning Sciences, 2008 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Psychology, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Everyday science learning in out-of-school contexts; cultural frameworks, epistemology, and early science learning.


Ryan Marsh, Economics, 2010 MPES Cohort

Associate,  Analysis Group

Research Projects: Teaching labor market responses to policy changes; school accountability policies.


Kit Martin, Learning Sciences, 2016 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Multi-modal sensors; Measuring model based learning with multiple data streams.


Loren Marulis, Psychology, 2006 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Human Development, Connecticut College

Research Projects: Vocabulary intervention on young children’s word learning; teaching and cultural diversity.


Megan Mekinda-Bartges, Human Development and Social Policy, 2008 MPES Cohort

Instructor, Practicum in LOC, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Youth program design, implementation, and evaluation; after-school program quality; positive youth development; school-to-work transition.


David Miele, Psychology, 2005 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Education Psychology, Boston College

Research Projects: How children self-assess their learning; self-regulated learning.


Heather Mirous, Psychology, 2006 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Investigating the effects of chronic and immediate stressors on adolescent health, sleep, and learning outcomes.


Richard Paquin Morel, HDSP, 2014 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh

Research Projects: Analyzing the growth of social movements that oppose the use of standardized test for accountability purposes in public schools


Heather Norbury, Psychology, 2005 MPES Cohort

Education Policy Researcher, American Institutes for Research

Research Projects: Language and category development; predicting student outcomes.


Scott Ogawa, Economics, 2010 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Economics, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Students’ behavioral response to the price of education; optimal allocation of students to teachers.


Enrique Orlina, Learning Sciences, 2004 MPES Cohort

Senior Research Scientist, NSI

Research Projects: Distributed leadership practices in schools.


Natalia Palacios, Human Development and Social Policy, 2004 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia

Research Projects: Early reading achievement of children in immigrant families; parental involvement in education among immigrants.


Leigh Parise, Human Development and Social Policy, 2007 MPES Cohort

Research Associate, MDRC

Research Projects: Students’ successful transitions into and through high school; implementation and impacts of communities in schools (dropout prevention).


Benjamin Passty, Economics, 2004 MPES Cohort

Lead Forecaster for Indiana at Duke Energy Company

Research Projects: Impact of college quality on field of study.


Sarah Peko-Spicer, Statistics, 2016 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Design and analysis of systematic replication programs in education research.


Hisham Petry, Learning Sciences, 2007 MPES Cohort

DevOps Systems Administrator, Vibes Media

Research Projects: Student motivation and student identity.


Cassidy Puckett, Sociology, 2010 MPES Cohort

Postdoctoral Fellow, Tufts University

Research Projects: Social determinants of adolescents propensity to learn new technologies; study of ‘professional disposition’ standards for teacher education; study of hybrid (informal/formal) technology learning spaces.


James Pustejovsky, Statistics, 2009 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Texas at Austin

Research Projects: Operationally comparable effect sizes for meta-analysis of single-case research.


Scott Richman, Human Development and Social Policy, 2007 MPES Cohort

Survey Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research

Research Projects: School achievement and parental control in black and white families; effects of subjective social status, mental health, and study habits on GPA among ethnically diverse high achievers.


Meghan Salomon-Amend,  Psychology, 2014 MPES Cohort

Post-doctoral Fellow, DePaul University

Research Projects: Optimization bias in inter-temporal decision-making including education decisions


Jacob Schauer, Statistics, 2014 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Publication bias in meta-analysis; statistical data disclosure and imputation techniques for synthetic datasets


Matthew Shirrell, Human Development and Social Policy, 2009 MPES Cohort

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Effects of school-level accountability on teacher turnover and retention; effects of student teaching schools on student teachers’ career plans; new principals’ work to shape school working conditions for teachers.


KatieAnn Skogsberg, Psychology, 2004 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Centre College

Research Projects: Effects of concussions on performance of cognitive tasks; effects of energy drinks on attention.


Linsey Smith, Psychology, 2009 MPES Cohort

Manager of Analytics, Guest Insights, E15 Group/Levy Restaurants

Research Projects: Analogical comparison in learning; relational processing in graph comprehension.


Aaron Sojourner, Economics, 2006 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota

Research Projects: Early child education and achievement gaps; influences of peers on student achievement; teacher compensation.


Jesse Sparks, Learning Sciences, 2008 MPES Cohort

Associate Research Scientist, Educational Testing Service (ETS)

Research Projects: Critical thinking and evaluation when learning from text; influence of text structure on memory updating; effects of course credibility on belief revision and inference generation.


Jennifer Stephan, Human Development and Social Policy, 2005 MPES Cohort

Education Policy Researcher, American Institutes for Research

Research Projects: Predictors of college readiness; measures of college quality; college and career success research.


Abigail Stein, Learning Sciences, 2015 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Instructional coaching and educational infrastructure.


Ryan Svoboda, HDSP, 2014 MPES Cohort

Quantitative Researcher, Facebook

Research Projects: Interplay between identity, motivation, and emotion as pathways to support and promote student achievement.


Carolyn Pichert Swen, HDSP, 2014 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: How certain constructs present in narrative identities may predict other aspects of peoples’ lives; Principals’ professional identity and how it changes during their first years as new principals


Elizabeth Tipton, Statistics, 2007 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University

Research Projects: Design and analysis of large scale experiments; external validity issues in experiments.


Robert Vargas, Sociology, 2008 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Projects: Peer effects; youth violence; youth community organization participation.


Robert Vargas, Sociology, 2008 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Projects: Peer effects; youth violence; youth community organization participation.


Sarah Collier Villaume, Human Development and Social Policy, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Policy and Intervention impacts on stress biology, wellbeing, and health.


Kathryn Weitz White, Human Development and Social Policy, 2004 MPES Cohort

Director of Impact Plan and Improvement (former), Sherwood Foundation

Research Projects: Inside the black box of accountability; engagements of low-income students in civic life.


Cora Wigger, HDSP, 2017 MPES Cohort

Active PhD Candidate, Northwestern University

Research Projects: Relationship between education policies and residential patterns of individuals by race and social class.


Vivian Wong, Human Development and Social Policy, 2004 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia

Research Projects: Politics and science in evolution of head start; effectiveness-based evaluation of 5 state pre-kindergarten programs.


Heyu Xiong, Economics, 2015 MPES Cohort

Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University

Research Projects: Effects of Great Recession on educational funding and outcomes


Christine Yang, Learning Sciences, 2009 MPES Cohort

Graduated December 2015

Research Projects: International comparative mathematics education; cognition and culture; mathematical epistemologies and learning; technological and other representational media and their role in learning across contexts.


Claudia Zapata, Human Development and Social Policy, 2011 Cohort

Active PhD Candidate

Research Projects: Bicultural identity and educational experiences; high school transition into post-secondary education.


Aliza Zivic, Learning Sciences, 2015 Cohort

Active PhD Candidate

Research Projects: How students develop identities in the science classroom