Staff & Organization
OPRE Staff, Contractors, and Fellows
Bios
OPRE Staff | DCFD | DEI | DFS | DDI
SCRD Fellows | National Poverty Fellows | Truman Fellows | BSC
OPRE Staff
Naomi Goldstein
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research and Evaluation
Sheila Celentano
Budget Officer
Melissa Barry
Staff Assistant
Maria Clifford
Administrative Officer
Emily Ball Jabbour
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
ACF Performance Officer
Molly Jones
Social Science Research Analyst
Karl Koerper
Executive Officer
Emily Mella
Presidential Management Fellow
Special Assistant to Naomi Goldstein
Robert Sargis
Program Analyst
Paperwork Reduction Act
Division of Child and Family Development (DCFD)
Mary Bruce Webb
Division Director
Meryl Barofsky
Social Science Research Analyst
Early Childhood Research
Amanda Clincy
Social Science Research Analyst
Early Childhood Research, Early Head Start, Home Visiting
Wendy DeCourcey
Social Science Research Analyst
Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
Kathleen Dwyer
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Child Care, Head Start and Early Head Start, Child Welfare, Human Trafficking, Early Adversity, Two-Generation Approaches
Christine Fortunato
Social Science Research Analyst
Laura Hoard
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Head Start, Child and Family Well-Being, Health
Amy Madigan
Team Leader for Head Start Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Early Head Start, Head Start
Ivelisse Martinez-Beck
Team Leader for Child Care Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Mary Mueggenborg
Social Science Research Analyst
Human Trafficking, Child Welfare, Youth Homelessness, Head Start
Ann Rivera
Social Science Research Analyst
Dual Language Learners, Head Start, Child Care
Maria Woolverton
Team Leader for Child Welfare Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Child Welfare, Foster Care, and Head Start
Division of Economic Independence (DEI)
Mark Fucello
Division Director
Kimberly Clum
Social Science Research Analyst
Nicole Constance
Social Science Research Analyst, Research Coordinator on Non-residential Parent Economic Mobility
Career Pathways Programs, Employment and Training, Incarcerated/Formerly Incarcerated Parents, Non-residential Parents, Child Support
Hilary Forster
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Health Profession Opportunity Grants Evaluations, Employment and Training, Career Pathways, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Tiffany McCormack
Social Science Research Analyst
TANF Program and Policy Research, Asset-Building Research, Refugee Populations, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Amelia Popham
Social Science Research Analyst
TANF Program and Policy Research, Family Self-Sufficiency, Health Profession Opportunity Grants Evaluation, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Emily Schmitt
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Behavioral Interventions Research, TANF Program and Policy Research, Child and Family Well-Being, Homelessness Issues, Work and Family Issues
Girley Wright
Senior Program Analyst
TANF program and policy Research, Special Populations, Incarcerated Parents, Transitional Jobs Studies
Carli Wulff
Social Science Research Analyst
Employment and Training research, Family Self-Sufficiency, Youth Development research, Assets Building research, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Erica Hecht Zielewski
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Employment and Training Research, Career Pathways Programs. Family Self-Sufficiency, Youth Development Research, Asset-Building Research
Division of Family Strengthening (DFS)
Aleta Meyer
Acting Division Director, Team Leader for American Indian and Alaskan Native Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting, Supplemental Parenting Enhancements to Early Head Start, Research Capacity Building with American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities, Youth Development, and Prevention
Caryn Blitz
Senior Program Analyst
Seth Chamberlain
Team Leader for Adolescent Development Research /Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Strengthening Families, Responsible Fatherhood, Family Support, Youth Development, and Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Nicole Denmark
Social Science Research Analyst
Pooja Gupta
Presidential Management Fellow
Social Science Research Analyst
Samantha Illangasekare
Team Leader for Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Research/Social Science Research Analyst
Nancy Geyelin Margie
Team Leader for Home Visiting Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting
Laura Nerenberg
Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting Evaluations, OPRE Innovative Methods Meeting
Liz Davenport Pollock
Social Science Research Analyst
Anna Solmeyer
Social Science Research Analyst
Strengthening Families, Responsible Fatherhood
Tia Zeno
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Data and Improvement (DDI)
Christopher Traver
Acting Division Director
Brett Brown
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Social Indicators, Youth Development, Administrative and Survey Data
Christi Dant
State Systems Coordinator
Sandy Stier
Senior Advisor
Thomas Miller
Program Director
Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS)
In addition to the permanent staff, OPRE is supported by the work of a number of Fellows and consultants including:
The Society for Research in Child Development Fellows (SRCD Fellows)
Jenessa Malin
Division of Child and Family Development
Elizabeth Shuey
Division of Child and Family Development
Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison National Poverty Fellows
Nicole Deterding
Division of Economic Independence
Megan Reid
Division of Economic Independence
The Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation Fellows (Truman Fellows)
Bill De La Rosa
Division of Child and Family Development
Alex Paterson
Division of Economic Independence
Business Strategies Consultants Staff (BSC)
Alysia Blandon
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development
Nina Hetzner
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development
Deric Joyner
Dissemination Strategist
Victoria Kabak
OPRE Research Fellow
Division of Economic Independence
Kathleen McCoy
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development & Division of Family Strengthening
Katherine McKinney
Management Analyst
Bios
OPRE Staff | DCFD | DEI | DFS | DDI
SRCD Fellows | National Poverty Fellows | Truman Fellows | BSC
OPRE Staff
Naomi Goldstein
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research and Evaluation
Naomi Goldstein is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research and Evaluation. She advises the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of ACF programs. Goldstein joined ACF as Director of the OPRE Division of Child and Family Development in 2000. She became Director of OPRE in 2004 and Deputy Assistant Secretary in 2015. Previously she directed the United States Postal Service Commission on A Safe and Secure Workplace, an independent commission that examined workplace violence affecting the Postal Service and the nation. She served as Project Manager for the Urban Institute’s Assessing the New Federalism project, and as Executive Officer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at HHS. Earlier in her career, she served in the Massachusetts state government and developed infant mortality prevention programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Ms. Goldstein received a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University. She was awarded the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive in 2012.
Sheila Celentano
Budget Officer
Sheila Celentano is the Budget Officer for OPRE, providing budget, financial, and systems support. She is one of the system administrators and key integrators for the internal Project and Accounting tracking system. She specializes in financial process improvement, user communications and training, and strategic planning. Sheila is also trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt. Sheila became a federal employee in January of 2015. Previously she supported the OPRE budget office as a contractor for Business Strategy Consultants. Prior to joining OPRE she worked for a variety of defense contractors in financial systems support over the last 30 years; most notably at TASC, Inc. for 14 years; and is happy to be on the softer side of government now. Sheila holds a BS in applied Mathematics from Norwich University, Northfield, VT and received her Master’s in Organizational Leadership in 2014, also from Norwich University.
Maria Clifford
Administrative Officer
Maria Clifford is the Administrative Officer for OPRE responsible for planning, coordinating and directing all administrative activities for OPRE. This includes personnel management, administration, budgeting and financial management, procurement, property management and supplies. Prior to coming to OPRE Ms. Clifford worked in the Office of Administration, Office of Grants Management and in the Event Management and Telecommunications field prior to returning to federal service. Ms. Clifford is working to complete her Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland and continue to pursue a Master of Science in Management.
Emily Ball Jabbour
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
ACF Performance Officer
Emily (Ball) Jabbour is the Performance Officer for ACF, ensuring agency compliance with all performance measurement requirements related to the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the GPRA Modernization Act, including Agency Priority Goals, GPRA performance measures, agency contributions to the HHS Strategic Plan, and other performance items related to the annual budget request. Ms. Jabbour is also Project Officer for the OPRE web contract and the acquisition services support contract. She holds a BA in psychology from Boston College and a Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) in social policy with a law minor from Columbia University.
Molly Jones
Social Science Research Analyst
Molly Jones coordinates Paperwork Reduction Act activities and the review and release of research reports. She also works on budget-related matters and a variety of other projects within OPRE, as needed. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a full time Graduate Research Assistant at The George Washington University after teaching seventh and eighth grade mathematics. Ms. Jones holds a BS from Cornell University, a MAT from PACE University, and a MA in Education Policy from The George Washington University.
Karl Koerper
Executive Officer
Karl Koerper is the Executive Officer of OPRE and previous director of OPRE’s Division of Economic Independence. He has a B.S. in Political of Science from the University of Oregon, an MPA from Syracuse University, and is a former Presidential Management Fellow.
Emily Mella
Presidential Management Fellow
Special Assistant to Naomi Goldstein
Emily Mella’s work focuses on coordinating preparations for the 2017 presidential transition for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). During her Presidential Management Fellowship at ACF, Emily served as a special assistant to the ACF Chief of Staff and completed a rotational assignment in the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Prior to joining the federal government, Emily worked as a curriculum developer for online training programs for the United States Institute of Peace. She holds a BA from the University of Evansville and an MA from American University.
Robert Sargis
Program Analyst
Paperwork Reduction Act
Robert Sargis is Reports Clearance Officer under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Prior to joining OPRE he held other positions within ACF including Enterprise Architect, Lead for Capital Planning Investment Control, and Lead for Computer Security. He also held sales and sales management positions with The General Electric Company, Harris Corporation and Tymshare in the private sector computer industry. Mr. Sargis holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland in microbiology, MBA in Finance from the American University, and Masters in Information Systems from George Mason University.
Division of Child and Family Development (DCFD)
Mary Bruce Webb
Division Director
Mary Bruce Webb has been the Director of the Division of Child and Family Development since 2005. Prior to joining ACF, she was a school psychologist for public schools in Connecticut, and then held research positions at Yale University and at Johns Hopkins University. At ACF, she has overseen a diverse array of studies, including the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a longitudinal, nationally representative survey of children and families who come into contact with child welfare system. She is co-editor for two books that are based on that study: Child Protection: Using Research to Improve Policy and Practice (Brookings Press, 2006) and Child Welfare and Child Well-Being (Oxford Press, 2009). She received a Ph.D. in School Psychology from Fordham University and did her post-doctoral training in children’s mental health services research at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Meryl Barofsky
Social Science Research Analyst
Early Childhood Research
Meryl Yoches Barofsky’s work focuses on early care and education, primarily on child care programs and Head Start. To date, her portfolio at OPRE includes: American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Child and Family Experiences Survey (AI/AN FACES), American Indian/Alaska Native Early Childhood Needs Assessment Design Project, Assessing the Cost and Implementation of High Quality Early Care and Education (ECE-ICHQ), Child Care and Development Block Grant Implementation Research and Evaluation Grants, Early Care and Education Research Connections, and coordination of the Network of Infant/Toddler Researchers (NITR). Meryl’s own research interests include: child care subsidies and family well-being, measurement and advanced statistical methods. Dr. Barofsky holds a BA in Psychology from Connecticut College, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Amanda Clincy
Social Science Research Analyst
Early Childhood Research, Early Head Start, Home Visiting
Amanda Clincy’s work focuses on early care and education, early childhood home visiting, and child welfare. Her research interests include improving the delivery of comprehensive services to children and families. She is also interested in developing research to practice briefs that are concise, digestible, and relevant to various audiences. Prior to her appointment as a Social Science Research Analyst, Amanda was a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellow at OPRE. She holds a BA from Howard University and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Wendy DeCourcey
Social Science Research Analyst
Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
Wendy DeCourcey works primarily on research involving early childhood care and education programs. Her recent projects focus on professional development, coaching, and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. In addition to research projects, Wendy also leads the development of Head Start’s National Research Conference on Early Childhood. Prior to joining OPRE, Dr. DeCourcey worked as an early intervention teacher in Portland, Oregon. Her degree is a Ph.D. from Clark University.
Kathleen Dwyer
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Child Care, Head Start and Early Head Start, Child Welfare, Human Trafficking, Early Adversity, Two-Generation Approaches
Kathleen Dwyer’s work focuses on child development, parenting, early care and education, and approaches to improving child and family well-being. Several of her projects support child care policy research (CCDF Policies Database, Child Care Administrative Data Analysis Center, Center to Support Evaluations of CCDF Policy Implementations). She co-leads a project that is exploring two-generation approaches to improving family self-sufficiency, and she oversees a set of grants that are testing targeted two-generation approaches within the context of Head Start. She also oversees a set of grants that are testing approaches to promoting and improving early child development by supporting both parenting and caregiving in Early Head Start programs. A new project will build the evidence for interventions for the child welfare population. Dr. Dwyer originally began her work at OPRE as a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellow. She has a Ph.D. in Human Development with a specialization in Developmental Sciences from the University of Maryland.
Christine Fortunato
Social Science Research Analyst
Christine Fortunato’s work focuses on early care and education, specifically Head Start and Early Head Start programs. She is particularly interested in stress and coping in children and families; quality improvement for early childhood programs; and statistical methods. Prior to her appointment as a Social Scientist, she was a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellow at OPRE. She previously held a post-doctoral fellowship at the Child Brain Development Lab at Penn State University, where she collaborated with an interdisciplinary research team on a randomized clinical trial of a targeted intervention for early onset aggression. Dr. Fortunato holds a BA in Biology and Psychology from Clark University, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University.
Laura Hoard
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Head Start, Child and Family Well-Being, Health
Laura Hoard is a Social Science Research Analyst whose work mainly focuses on the mental and physical health of children, families, and how programs and systems can support health. Currently she leads the multisite evaluation of SAMHSA’s Project LAUNCH (Linking Action for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) grant program, the creation of the Family-Provider Relationship Quality measures, and the survey of Head Start Health Managers. She was a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Executive Branch Fellow in OPRE. Previously she worked at REDA International conducting research on the state implementation of No Child Left Behind teacher qualification standards. Dr. Hoard holds a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Ph.D. in Family Studies, both from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her interests include mental and physical health of children, families, and communities; parenting; supports for and improvement of early childhood teachers; program design, implementation, evaluation, and the use of data for quality improvements; resilience; and population level evaluation.
Amy Madigan
Team Leader for Head Start Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Early Head Start, Head Start
Amy Madigan is the team lead for Head Start research in OPRE where she provides leadership for research and policy activities related to Head Start, Early Head Start and other programs serving low income children and their families. Her research interests focus on quality improvement of early childhood programs, particularly as it relates to curriculum, assessment, and professional development. She is also interested in using research and data to drive quality improvement at both national and local levels. Before joining OPRE, Dr. Madigan was a policy and research analyst with HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Policy Fellow in ACF’s Office of Head Start. She holds a doctorate in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University.
Ivelisse Martinez-Beck
Team Leader for Child Care Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Ivelisse Martinez-Beck is the Child Care Research Team Leader at OPRE. Ms. Martinez-Beck held a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellowship with the Child Care Bureau, (currently Office of Child Care) in ACF. Previously she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, Albion College, MI, where she focused her teaching and research on language and cognitive development of young children from birth through 5-years. At OPRE, she focuses on early care and education (ECE), particularly on the quality of child care and early education programs, research on Quality Ratings and Improvement Systems (QRIS), professional development of the early childhood workforce, and access to high quality ECE by low-income families and children.
Ms. Martinez-Beck received a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the University of Puerto Rico and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Mary Mueggenborg
Social Science Research Analyst
Human Trafficking, Child Welfare, Youth Homelessness, Head Start
Mary Mueggenborg’s work focuses primarily on research related to human trafficking, child welfare, youth homelessness, and Head Start. She also has a particular interest in place-based initiatives. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a Research Coordinator at the Child & Adolescent Services Research Center, where she managed research projects related to maternal depression, early intervention programs for children with special needs, and child welfare. Ms. Mueggenborg holds a Master of Social Work degree and a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Ann Rivera
Social Science Research Analyst
Dual Language Learners, Head Start, Child Care
Ann Rivera is a Social Science Research Analyst at the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ann oversees research grants and contracts focused primarily on early care and education, specifically Head Start and child care programs, and on improving human services for Hispanic, immigrant, cultural and linguistic minority populations. To date, her portfolio at OPRE includes: Head Start CARES Demonstration, Child Care Policy Research Partnerships, Child Care Research Scholars, National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families, Report to Congress on Dual Language Learners in Head Start, Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners, ACF’s Hispanic Research Work Group, and OPRE’s Human Services Research Dissemination Project. Prior to her appointment as a Social Science Research Analyst, Ann was a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellow at OPRE. Ann’s own research has examined the effects of social exclusion, community‐based and government programs (e.g., Head Start, WIC, SNAP) in the lives of immigrant and low‐income children and families, using survey, quasi-experimental, ethnographic, and participatory research methods. While completing her doctoral training, she served as Co-Director of a longitudinal ethnographic study of low-income families with young children and provided research support to various community-based organizations in New York City. Ann received a B.A. in Religion from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in Community Psychology with a specialization in Developmental Psychology from New York University.
Maria Woolverton
Team Leader for Child Welfare Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Child Welfare, Foster Care, and Head Start
Maria Woolverton is the Team Leader for Child Welfare Research at OPRE, where she oversees a diverse portfolio of research studies focused on child welfare and foster care topics. These include evaluations of interventions for youth aging out of the foster care system and youth at risk of homelessness. She is part of the federal leadership team for the Children’s Bureau’s Permanency Innovations Initiative (PII), and manages overall evaluation activities for the initiative. She also manages the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a nationally-representative descriptive study of Head Start, and oversaw development of the new American Indian/Alaska Native Family and Child Experiences Survey (AI/AN FACES). Prior to joining OPRE in 2004, Ms. Woolverton was a Senior Research Associate at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, where her work focused on children’s mental health, health and mental health care needs of children in the child welfare system, and children with special health care needs and disabilities. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University and did doctoral work in psychology at Stanford University.
Division of Economic Independence (DEI)
Mark Fucello
Division Director
Mark Fucello began his federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow. He has been the Director of the Division of Economic Independence in OPRE since 2008 and was OPRE’s executive officer in the prior year. Mark has directed national evaluations of employment and training and responsible fatherhood demonstrations as well as State AFDC/TANF research demonstrations in the years prior to and directly after the 1996 welfare reforms. Before moving to Washington he taught English at a Jesuit prep school and directed a summer academic program for low-income students in New Orleans. He served in the United States Peace Corps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He received an MPP from the George Washington University and is a graduate of Rutgers College.
Kimberly Clum
Social Science Research Analyst
Employment, Evidence Reviews, Behavioral Interventions
Kim Clum’s work focuses on low-income adults, workforce development, and economic self-sufficiency. She has a particular interest in innovative approaches to improving employment and earnings outcomes for low-income adults and qualitative methods. Prior to joining OPRE, she held positions in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at HHS, where she worked on an array of policy and program areas, including those related to disconnected youth, low-income men, reentry, and the child support program. Before that, she was at the University of Michigan, where she conducted qualitative research on topics related to low-income families, well-being, and mobility. Dr. Clum holds a BA, MSW, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Nicole Constance
Social Science Research Analyst, Research Coordinator on Non-residential Parent Economic Mobility
Career Pathways Programs, Employment and Training, Incarcerated/Formerly Incarcerated Parents, Non-residential Parents, Child Support
Nicole Constance’s work in OPRE focuses on employment and training, career pathways programs, family self-sufficiency, and programs for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated parents. She is especially interested in improving employment opportunities for low-income populations, particularly young men and formerly incarcerated parents, and in statistical methods. Prior to joining OPRE, she completed internships with the U.S. Census Bureau in the Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division’s Survey Improvement Research Branch, and with Child Trends in their Youth Development area. Ms. Constance holds a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Anthropology from Virginia Commonwealth University, a M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies and Demography from Penn State University, and is finishing her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies and Demography from Penn State.
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Health Profession Opportunity Grants Evaluations, Employment and Training, Career Pathways, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Hilary Forster is a Senior Social Science Research Analyst. She leads the Health Profession Opportunity Grants research and evaluation portfolio. She also manages work related to employment and training, specifically focused on career pathways and coaching interventions, and conducting research with tribal communities. She has previously managed OPRE’s Biennial Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency. Ms. Forster came to OPRE as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2010. Prior to joining OPRE, she worked as a Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research in the Education, Human Development, and the Workforce Program. Ms. Forster holds an M.P.P., with a concentration in Education, Social and Family Policy, from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University.
Tiffany McCormack
Social Science Research Analyst
TANF Program and Policy Research, Asset-Building Research, Refugee Populations, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Tiffany McCormack’s portfolio of work covers topics related to improving the economic self-sufficiency of low-income individuals, including projects examining adult learning principles and skill development, asset-building approaches, and the provision of services available to resettled refugees. She also manages OPRE’s Biennial Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency. Previously Ms. McCormack worked for Boston Public Schools, the City of Sacramento in the Mayor’s Office, and the California State Legislature. Ms. McCormack holds a BA from UCLA and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Amelia Popham
Social Scientist Research Analyst
TANF Program and Policy Research, Family Self-Sufficiency, Health Profession Opportunity Grants Evaluation, Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency
Amelia Popham’s work focuses on the well-being of low-income families. She has a particular interest in the coordination of federal safety net programs and their effectiveness in promoting family self-sufficiency. She is also interested in participatory approaches to research and evaluation and building research capacity in underserved communities, including American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Ms. Popham joined ACF in 2010 as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). Prior to joining OPRE, she served as a Family Assistance Program Specialist working primarily on policy and program monitoring related to Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Tribal TANF Child Welfare Coordination in ACF’s Office of Family Assistance. Prior to that, she held positions at Social Intervention Group, United Way, and the University of Texas’ Center for Social Work Research. Ms. Popham holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW) from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s of Science in Social Work (MSSW) from Columbia University.
Emily Schmitt
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Behavioral Interventions Research, TANF Program and Policy Research, Child and Family Well-Being, Homelessness Issues, Work and Family Issues
Emily Schmitt manages a portfolio of research related to human services and the wellbeing of low-income families. She leads OPRE’s work on the application of behavioral economics to human services, as well as projects related to TANF, employment and training, homeless and disconnected families, and work family issues. Previously Ms. Schmitt worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Kennedy School.
Girley Wright
Senior Program Analyst
TANF program and policy Research, Special Populations, Incarcerated Parents, Transitional Jobs Studies
Girley Wright is a Senior Program Analyst. Her portfolio includes topics related to self-sufficiency, employment and the well-being of low-income individuals, including subsidized employment and TANF-related issues. She has a particular interest in strategies that will improve the skills of low-income workers. Prior to joining OPRE, she held positions at the Social Security Administration. Ms. Wright holds a BA from Benedict College.
Carli Wulff
Social Science Research Analyst
Carli Wulff’s work focuses on topics related to supporting economic self-sufficiency for low-income individuals and families, including projects related to two-generation approaches, employment and training, TANF office culture, family experiences with poverty, and homelessness. Prior to joining OPRE, she served as a social science analyst in HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, where she began as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) and focused her work on homelessness and child support policy and research. She served as a special assistant to ACF’s Acting Assistant Secretary for her PMF rotation. Prior to her federal service, Ms. Wulff was a VISTA Coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow in Washington, DC and she served in the United State Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan. Ms. Wulff has an MPP from the George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and a BA in political science from Hamline University, in St. Paul, MN.
Erica Hecht Zielewski
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Employment and Training Research, Career Pathways Programs. Family Self-Sufficiency, Youth Development Research, Asset-Building Research
Erica Hecht Zielewski is a Senior Social Science Research Analyst and Team Lead for Employment and Training Research. Her portfolio includes several topics related to self-sufficiency and the well-being of low-income individuals, including subsidized employment, career pathways programs, youth transitions to adulthood, job search assistance, youth employment strategies, and financial literacy and asset-building approaches. She has previously managed OPRE’s Bi-Annual Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency. Ms. Zielewski came to OPRE as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2009. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a Research Associate at The Urban Institute where her research focused on child welfare and well-being, youth transitioning from the foster care system, adoption and adoptive family recruitment, family leave policies, and asset-building programs. Ms. Zielewski holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Vassar College.
Division of Family Strengthening (DFS)
Aleta Meyer
Acting Division Director, Team Leader for American Indian and Alaskan Native Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting, Supplemental Parenting Enhancements to Early Head Start, Research Capacity Building with American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities, Youth Development, and Prevention
Dr. Aleta Meyer’s work focuses on the translation of theory and empirical research across multiple health outcomes into effective and feasible prevention programs for communities. At ACF this includes the translation of research on early adversity to ACF programs, community-based-participatory-research to evaluate early childhood programs within American Indian/Alaska Native communities, and positive youth development. From 2007-2010, she was a health scientist administrator in the Prevention Research Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Prior to joining NIDA, she was an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development at Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed her doctoral work in Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, with an emphasis in Prevention Science.
Caryn Blitz
Senior Program Analyst
Seth Chamberlain
Team Leader for Adolescent Development Research /Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Strengthening Families, Responsible Fatherhood, Family Support, Youth Development, and Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention
Seth Chamberlain’s work focuses on a range of youth, family formation, and family functioning issues, e.g. adolescent pregnancy prevention, strengthening families, responsible fatherhood, and domestic violence; he also works on issues related to low-income and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations. He has a particular interest in healthy adolescent development and successful transition to adulthood. Prior to joining OPRE, Mr. Chamberlain taught middle school Spanish in Chicago, interned at a program for men convicted of domestic battery, and interned as a clinical social worker at the University of Chicago Hospital. Mr. Chamberlain holds a B.A. from Goshen College and an A.M. from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration.
Nicole Denmark
Social Science Research Analyst
Nicole Denmark’s work at OPRE focuses on early care and education, and other human service programs for American Indian/ Alaskan Native communities. Nicole has a strong interest in cultural and contextual influences on parenting and on the effectiveness of programs for young children and families. Nicole is also very interested in participatory approaches to research and evaluation, including measurement development. Prior to joining OPRE, Nicole worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Maryland College Park, where she managed evaluations of home visiting programs for low-income families. Nicole’s dissertation study on the experiences of Central American immigrant children and families in Head Start was funded through a Head Start Scholars dissertation award. Nicole holds a BA in Psychology from Reed College, and a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Maryland College Park.
Pooja Gupta
Presidential Management Fellow
Social Science Research Analyst
Pooja Gupta’s work focuses on early care and education, primarily on projects related to home visiting. She has a particular interest in collecting and using relevant data and evidence to inform programs related to child well-being and relationship and family strengthening, especially through cultural and contextual adaptations. She’s also interested in mixed methods research and the communication of research and evidence to a wide variety of audiences. Prior to joining OPRE, she worked on US government-funded international development projects and completed an internship at a nonprofit focused on social entrepreneurship and innovation. Ms. Gupta holds a BA from the College of William & Mary and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School
Samantha Illangasekare
Team Leader for Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Research/Social Science Research Analyst
Samantha Illangasekare’s work focuses on relationship and family strengthening, and she works primarily on projects related to Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood programs and domestic violence initiatives. She is particularly interested in program development and implementation, intimate partner and dating violence prevention and intervention, mixed methods, and community-based participatory research methods. Prior to joining OPRE, she was on faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her research focused on intimate partner violence and community-based health initiatives. Dr. Illangasekare holds a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University, a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Nancy Geyelin Margie
Team Leader for Home Visiting Research/Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting
Nancy Geyelin Margie’s work focuses on parenting and the promotion of healthy child development. She coordinates OPRE’s home visiting research efforts, and oversees the national evaluations examining the implementation and impact of home visiting programs. Before concentrating on home visiting research, she also worked on projects in OPRE related to family engagement in early care and education, Head Start, and child care. Dr. Margie came to OPRE as a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Fellow. Prior to graduate school, she was a research assistant at the National Academies for the report From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development, and at Child Trends working on a variety of early childhood topics. Dr. Margie holds a B.A. from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of Maryland.
Laura Nerenberg
Social Science Research Analyst
Home Visiting Evaluations, OPRE Innovative Methods Meeting
Laura Nerenberg is a Social Science Research Analyst at the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, where her work focuses on family strengthening, primarily on projects related to home visiting services. She is particularly interested in parenting, promotion of positive mental health outcomes, and implementation science. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Dr. Nerenberg holds a B.S. in Psychology from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota.
Liz Davenport Pollock
Social Science Research Analyst
Liz Davenport Pollock’s work focuses on relationships and family strengthening, and on early childhood home visiting. She is particularly interested in research on family and couples relationships, using research and evaluation to inform policy and programming, and the translation of evidence for lay audiences. Prior to joining OPRE, Dr. Pollock worked at the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) at Uniformed Services University, where her work was primarily focused on family resilience, military family strengthening, the intersection of physical, emotional, psychological and relational factors, and the online delivery of evidence based information. Dr. Pollock holds a B.A. in Political Science and History from Rice University, a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Ph.D. in Family Science from the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Anna Solmeyer
Social Science Research Analyst
Strengthening Families, Responsible Fatherhood, Statistical Methods
Anna Solmeyer’s work focuses on family strengthening, primarily on projects related to responsible fatherhood and healthy marriage. She is particularly interested in parenting and coparenting, using research and evaluation to inform policy, and statistical methods. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a post-doctoral scholar at Penn State University, where she studied sibling relationships and family-based interventions. Dr. Solmeyer holds a BA in Psychology from Carleton College and a MS and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University.
Tia Zeno
Social Science Research Analyst
Tia Zeno’s work focuses on teen pregnancy prevention, home visiting, and domestic violence initiatives. She has a keen interest in health equity, positive youth development, and mixed methods research. From 2012-2014, Dr. Zeno served as an AAAS Population Association of America Fellow in the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research where she worked on health disparities and fatherhood research. Prior to joining OPRE, she worked on health policy issues affecting women, adolescents, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. Dr. Zeno holds a B.S. from Xavier University of Louisiana, an M.P.H. from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Division of Data and Improvement (DDI)
Christopher Traver
Acting Division Director
Chris Traver serves as Acting Director for OPRE’s Division of Data and Improvement (DDI). The division encompasses a number of unique initiatives with the common goal of improving the sharing and analysis of data to promote positive outcomes for the children, adults, and families that rely on ACF supported programs. Chris also manages an agency-wide interoperability initiative to build integrated human services systems that are capable of robust data sharing, support increased collaboration, and facilitate harmonized policies and processes. Other goals include expanding the adoption of NIEM, the National Information Exchange Model, and fostering multi-disciplinary information exchange with health, justice, education, and other stakeholders to enable coordinated service delivery and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human service programs. Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Duke University in Durham, NC.
Brett Brown
Senior Social Science Research Analyst
Social Indicators, Youth Development, Administrative and Survey Data
Dr. Brett Brown is a Senior Research Analyst for the Division on Data and Improvement, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), where he focuses on making administrative data better, more accessible and more useful to support program research and evaluation. From 2012 to 2016 he was Director of the Office of Data, Analysis, Research and Evaluation (ODARE), Administration on Children, Youth and Families, ACF/DHHS. Prior to joining ACYF in 2012, he was Vice President for Child and Family Studies at Walter R. McDonald & Associates, Inc. (WRMA), and prior to that the Director for Social Indicators Research at Child Trends, a non-partisan, non-profit research firm. Dr. Brown is a sociologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Research interests include youth development and the transition to adulthood, and indicators of child well-being.
Christi Dant
State Systems Coordinator
Christi Dant is the State Systems Coordinator for HHS in the Division of Data & Improvement. Her primary responsibility is to coordinate responses to requests from states through the Advance Planning Document submission process for federal funds for IT systems that support Medicaid, foster care and child support enforcement. She also supports NIEM and other interoperability and data exchange efforts across agencies and domains.
Prior to joining OPRE, Christi held numerous positions in the public sector. Christi joined federal services as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Social Security Administration as an Executive Analyst for the Commissioner and Special Assistant to the Principal Deputy Commissioner. She came to HHS initially with the Health Resources & Services Administration as a program manager for the Healthy Community Access Program. She joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an executive officer and later helped to establish the first National Emergency Operations Center. Christi then spent five years in the private sector in her own consulting practice where she worked extensively with associations, CDC, HRSA, and HHS/OS. Christi rejoined federal service in 2010 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Office of e-Health Standards and Services and moved to the HHS/OS Office of the Chief Information Officer to support domain IT governance across HHS. Christi joined ACF in December of 2015 to advance interoperability and data exchanges in ways that better support the people we serve while simultaneously improving both efficacy and efficiency of HHS programs.
Christi earned a Masters in Public Management from East Tennessee State University and a BA in Organizational Psychology from Prescott College in Prescott, AZ.
Sandy Stier is on an IPA (Intergovernmental Personnel Act) assignment, serving as a Senior Policy Advisor on data interoperability. Before joining ACF, she served as a Special Expert in the Office of Policy, Planning and Innovation for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to joining SAMHSA, Sandy was the Director of Information Systems for Alameda County Health Care Services Agency in Oakland, California, overseeing systems for public health, environmental health and behavioral health, and managing teams of developers and analysts. She ensured the development and maintenance of systems that supported enrollment and service delivery integral to the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, she has led systems change in local government for child welfare services, adult protective services, and nutrition and economic support services. Sandy holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Iowa, and a Masters in Public Administration from Golden Gate University.
Thomas Miller
Program Director
Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS)
Tom Miller is the Program Director administering the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) Project. In this role, he serves as the central point of contact with the PARIS Board of Directors, other federal agencies and states for this computer matching process. He has also held positions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and ACF’s Office of Child Support Enforcement. Prior to joining the federal government in 2004, he was a consultant for ten years assisting several states implement their statewide automated child support enforcement and child welfare systems. He served in the Air Force as a special operations navigator and as a navigator flight instructor at the Department of Defense Undergraduate Navigator Flight Training School. Tom received a BS in Health Education from Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville and a MS in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento.
The Society for Research in Child Development Fellows (SRCD Fellows)
Jenessa Malin
Division of Child and Family Development
Jenessa Malin is an American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Society for Research in Child Development (AAAS/SRCD) Policy Fellow at OPRE. Her work focuses on early care and education programs including Head Start and Early Head Start. She is particularly interested in infant and toddler development, parenting, and quantitative methods. Dr. Malin holds a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University. She also holds a M.A. in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation and a Ph.D. in Human Development, both from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Elizabeth Shuey
Division of Child and Family Development
Elizabeth Shuey is a Society for Research in Child Development Fellow at OPRE during the 2016-2017 academic year. Her work at OPRE focuses on early care and education, primarily research on child care programs. She is interested in the neighborhood context of child development, with particular attention to immigrant families and families’ access to resources (e.g., quality child care). Prior to joining OPRE, she was a Doris Duke Fellow for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. She previously worked at RTI International and also served as an intern at both the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the in the ACF Region 1 Offices of Child Care and Head Start. Elizabeth holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, an M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Ph.D. in child study and human development from Tufts University.
Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison National Poverty Fellows
Nicole Deterding
Division of Economic Independence
Nicole Deterding is a National Poverty Fellow at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in residence at OPRE. Her work focuses on postsecondary career pathways reforms and evaluation methodology. She has a particular interest in systemic higher education reform and mixed-methods research. Prior to joining OPRE, she was a Graduate Research Assistant for the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) Project, and a Research Associate at the Urban Institute, where she worked on several multi-site, mixed-methods program evaluations of interventions at both the K-12 and post-secondary level. Dr. Deterding holds a BA from Wellesley College, a MA in Education Policy Studies from The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University.
Megan Reid
Division of Economic Independence
Megan Reid is a National Poverty Fellow at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in residence at OPRE. Her work broadly focuses on low-income families, child well-being, and social policy. She is particularly interested in understanding relationship formation and dissolution, cohabiting relationships, parenthood, and the connections between housing and family. At OPRE her work focuses on healthy marriage and relationship education programs, responsible fatherhood programs, and family stability. Prior to coming to OPRE, Megan was a Project Director at National Development and Research Institutes in New York City where she directed a study on low-income cohabiting Black stepfamilies. She received her BA in sociology and English from Rutgers University, and her MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.
The Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation Fellows (Truman Fellows)
Bill De La Rosa
Division of Child and Family Development
Bill De La Rosa is a Truman-Albright Fellow at OPRE during the 2016-2017 academic year. His work at OPRE focuses on early childcare for Hispanic children and families, migrant and seasonal Head Start services, and unaccompanied minors. Mr. De La Rosa holds a BA from Bowdoin College.
Alex Paterson
Division of Economic Independence
Alex Paterson is a Truman-Albright Fellow at OPRE during the 2015-2016 academic year. His work at OPRE focuses on economic self-sufficiency and workforce development. Mr. Paterson holds a BS from Montana State University.
Business Strategies Consultants Staff (BSC)
Alysia Blandon
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development
Alysia Blandon is a Social Science Research Analyst with Business Strategy Consultants providing research support to OPRE. Her work at OPRE focuses on early care and education as well as caregiving relationships and the role they play in buffering toxic stress. Prior to joining OPRE, she was an Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research focused on parenting, coparenting, and young children’s social and emotional development. Dr. Blandon holds a BA in Psychology from Colorado College and PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Nina Hetzner
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development
Nina Philipsen Hetzner is a Social Science Research Analyst with Business Strategy Consultants. Her work at OPRE focuses on early care and education, primarily research on the Head Start and Early Head Start programs. She is interested in the effects of early childhood experiences on longitudinal development and how research in this area can inform effective policy and practice. Prior to her current position, she was a Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Policy Fellow, a research consultant with the New York City Department of Education on the development of the First Step NYC Leadership Institute, and a graduate fellow at the National Center for Children and Families. Dr. Philipsen Hetzner holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, a MS in Child Development from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University.
Deric Joyner
Dissemination Strategist
Deric Joyner is a Dissemination Strategist with Business Strategy Consultants, providing strategic research communications and dissemination support to OPRE. His work focuses on the effective dissemination of OPRE’s rigorous research and evaluation to the multiple stakeholders and audiences seeking to expand their understanding of ACF programs. He has a particular interest in leveraging organizational collaboration and communications across online and social media platforms to increase the engagement and impact of dissemination. Prior to joining OPRE, he held positions at the National Academy of Social Insurance, where he managed policy research communications and served a project manager for multiple organizational efforts. Mr. Joyner holds a BA from Morehouse College, and a MA in Public Administration from American University.
Victoria Kabak
OPRE Research Fellow
Division of Economic Independence
Victoria Kabak is a research analyst with Business Strategy Consultants providing research support to OPRE. Her work at OPRE focuses on the application of behavioral economics to human services, as well as other projects related to improving the economic self-sufficiency of low-income individuals. She has a particular interest in understanding the effectiveness of different approaches to poverty alleviation and in improving the lives of low-income children and youths. Previously, she worked at a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering child welfare systems and at a microfinance institution. Ms. Kabak holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Social Science Research Analyst
Division of Child and Family Development & Division of Family Stregthening
Kathleen McCoy is a Social Science Research Analyst with Business Strategy Consultants. Her work at OPRE focuses on family strengthening, in particular teen pregnancy prevention and healthy marriage/responsible fatherhood. Additionally, she works on child and foster care related projects. Prior to joining OPRE, she was the Chief Psychology Post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, as well as a Post-doc in the Health Disparities and Public Policy lab. Dr. McCoy holds a BS from Drexel University, and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame.
Katherine McKinney
Management Analyst
Katherine McKinney is a management analyst with Business Strategy Consultants providing analysis of managerial processes at OPRE. Her work at OPRE focuses on determining the effectiveness of administrative procedures and creating systems to ensure that related actions are completed with quality, in a timely manner, and comply with rules and regulations. Prior to joining OPRE, Ms. McKinney worked for the State of Washington in a variety of management analyst and quality assurance roles for the Department of Social and Health Services, the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises, and the Economic Services Administration. Ms. McKinney holds a BA in Political Science from James Madison University and a MPA, with a certificate in Nonprofit Administration, from the University of Central Florida.
