Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home
  • About Us
  • People
  • Experts

Robert Nathenson

Senior Researcher

Robert Nathenson is a senior researcher at AIR. He has over 10 years of experience in the execution of rigorous econometric and behavioral science techniques to applied policy questions in the postsecondary education, pre-k-12 education, and health fields. Dr. Nathenson regularly conducts research using both experimental and quasi-experimental designs. His work has a particular emphasis on fostering opportunity and mobility for minority, historically underserved, and low-income populations. Recent methodological work focuses on using behavioral science techniques to evaluate and improve survey response rates.

In higher education, Dr. Nathenson's work focuses on (1) early warning systems in high schools; (2) access, consumer choice, and transitions to college; (3) persistence and graduation; (4) economic mobility and labor market returns, particularly at Minority Serving Institutions; and (5) college savings and student loan debt. He is the principal investigator of the evaluation of the Pennsylvania Treasury’s statewide initiative, Keystone Scholars, the largest College Savings Account program in the country. He recently authored a report on inter-generational economic mobility, Moving Upward and Onward: Income Mobility at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He formerly led a higher education podcast series, covering such topics as Developmental Education, College Counseling Programs, College Promise Programs, and Education Deserts.

In pre-K-12 education, his work includes a national evaluation of Teach for America AmeriCorps, as well as an Education Innovation and Research grant for a randomized control trial (RCT) of an Early Warning Intervention and Monitoring System. He previously served as the quantitative lead of a National Science Foundation (NSF) RCT of a formative assessment mathematics professional development program for grades 3-5 teachers and another NSF-funded non-experimental expansion of the same program to grades K-2 and 6-8 teachers.

Dr. Nathenson's health research focuses on access and utilization for low-income, minority, and mental health populations. He has worked on the impact of mental health regulation on consumer utilization and employer behavior, access to care for Spanish speakers and immigrant populations, and the transition from the pediatric to the adult health care system for young adults with autism spectrum disorder.

He regularly presents his work at regional and national conferences, as well as at academic institutions. His work has been published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness (JREE); Pediatrics; Milbank Quarterly; Psychiatric Services; World Journal of Surgical Oncology; International Journal of Health Economics and Management; and Health Economics, Policy and Law. His work has been cited in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and other mainstream and trade publications.

Dr. Nathenson formerly was a research specialist at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). He completed his postdoctoral work at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) predoctoral fellow.

Share

Nathenson Robert 2019 201x250.jpg

Image of Robert Nathenson

Areas of Expertise

Education
College and Career Readiness
Equity in Education
Postsecondary Education
Mathematics Education
Teacher Preparation and Performance
Health
Health Cost and Coverage
Mental Health

Education

Ph.D., Sociology of Education and M.S.E., Applied Math and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University; M.Sc., Sociology, University of Oxford; B.A., History and American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Contact

Phone: 
(202) 403-5000
Email: 
Contact person by email

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2020 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap