Niu Gao is a principal researcher at AIR specializing in K-12 education policy. Her current work focuses on COVID-19 and education, and she is leading multiple projects to examine the impact of the pandemic on K-12 education and identify effective strategies to help students recover—and recover equitably. Her other areas ...
Wehmah Jones is a principal researcher at AIR with over 18 years of experience designing, implementing and managing research projects that focus on improving the developmental, educational and health outcomes of youth and adult populations.
Tia Clinton is an education researcher who’s work spans equity, K-12 school and program improvement, student belonging, and evaluation. Dr. Clinton has extensive experience in school level and nonprofit level interventions to increase achievement outcomes for students of color both on the K-12 and higher education levels. Her professional career ...
Charrise Hollingsworth is a researcher at AIR, where she evaluates programs and initiatives related to thriving youth and adults. Her growing body of work focuses on youth workforce development, advancing equitable outcomes in K-12 education, promoting socioemotional wellness for students and teachers, and supporting AIR’s cross-disciplinary place-based initiatives. A former ...
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 ...
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.
Sushmita Subedi, Ph.D., is a senior researcher in the Education Systems program area at AIR. Dr. Subedi has more than 10 years of experience in research and evaluation of school and district improvement, social emotional learning, and educator development programs. Her current responsibilities include directing the PreK-12 RESTART Network Lead ...
Carmen Martínez is a researcher with 18 years of experience in a range of national, state, and local research and evaluation projects in the domains of of early education and intervention, programs for at-risk and culturally diverse students, closing the achievement gap for low-income and minority students; and policies and ...
Stephanie Levin is a senior researcher within AIR’s Human Services division. An expert in educational leadership and school finance, Levin is dedicated to improving outcomes for public K–12 students and educators. At AIR, she directs a multi-year formative study and impact evaluation of UnboundEd’s Adolescent Literacy Planning & Implementation Collaborative ...
Michelle Perry is a senior technical assistance consultant in the Youth, Family, and Community Development program area at AIR. She currently serves as deputy project director for the Corrections and Community Engagement Technical Assistance Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. In this role, she ...