Mary Kay Dugan is a managing technical assistant consultant at AIR. She is passionate about identifying evidence-based promising practices and translating them into policies and effective programs focused on underserved populations including disadvantaged youth and young adults. Dugan has over 30 years of experience helping federal, state, and local governments ...
Dr. Tanvi Rao is an applied microeconomist with training and experience in quantitative research, econometric analysis, program evaluation and causal inference using experimental and quasi-experimental research methods.
Veronica Tate is a managing director at AIR and serves as a senior leader on the management team that shapes the technical assistance delivery and supports effective collaboration across the comprehensive centers operated by AIR. She provides leadership, project management, and quality assurance supervision to ensure the effectiveness of services, ...
Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
Whitney Cade is a senior researcher at AIR. She currently supports multiple projects, including two Institute for Education Science grants and the Regional Education Laboratories Southwest. Her recent work focuses on understanding the impacts of 8th grade algebra on school trajectories and college readiness, evaluating UTeach teacher characteristics and program ...
Yuan Zhang is a senior researcher in the Education Statistics program at AIR. She has over five years of experience providing expert support for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) longitudinal studies branch, including data analyses for various NCES reports, such as the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class ...
Amy Syvertsen is a principal researcher in AIR’s Youth, Family, and Community Development area. Dr. Syvertsen is an applied developmental scientist, and a content expert in positive youth development in childhood and adolescence with an emphasis on the developmental processes and contextual supports that undergird strong youth-adult relationships and civic ...
Bobbi Newman is a principal researcher and director of AIR’s practice area for standards and assessments. She has more than 15 years of experience in research and evaluation of school reform efforts. Dr. Newman has worked at every level of the education system, from the classroom to the state. As ...
Alison Hauser is a researcher with AIR focusing on early childhood. She is currently the survey task lead in the Evaluation of California’s Transitional Kindergarten Program and assisted with survey development on the Edwin Teaching and Learning project for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Hauser is has ...
Kelly King is senior technical assistance consultant at AIR with more than a decade of direct experience developing, managing, and evaluating community-based, cross-sector initiatives designed to improve health and reduce recidivism outcomes among individuals impacted by addiction. Dr. King serves as a Core Coach for the National Reentry Resource Center, ...