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 ...
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.
Harry J. Holzer is an AIR Scholar and the John LaFarge Jr. SJ Professor of Public Policy at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University. He is also a senior affiliate at the Urban Institute, a senior affiliate of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, a ...
Melissa Yisak is a senior researcher at AIR. She specializes in mixed-methods program evaluations and research studies and her main areas of interest include teacher preparation, youth development, and restorative justice. Her responsibilities include conducting interviews and focus groups and analyzing the data, conducting descriptive and inferential analyses with extant ...
Catherine Baker-Inzitari is a managing director in the Human Capital and Learning Solutions Hub within the Workforce Program Area at AIR. Her primary responsibilities include all aspects of business development, staff development, and eminence building. Baker-Inzitari applies her more than 25 years of leadership and talent development experience in leading ...
Kathleen L. Pfannenstiel is a senior researcher at AIR and provides technical assistance and professional development to states and school districts with an emphasis on improving results for students with disabilities. Dr. Pfannenstiel is the principle investigator for an Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) model demonstration grant. She works ...
Kwelin Waller is senior program manager with the AIR Equity Initiative. Waller works to combine research and technical assistance with real-world applications, leading the Equity Initiative's work in the interconnected areas of workforce development, community health and well-being. Additionally, she leads the AIR Scholars and Leaders Award grant competition, an initiative that ...
Nicholas Sorensen is a principal researcher at AIR. His research is primarily focused on dropout prevention and helping struggling students succeed across the transition to high school. His work emphasizes the role of social psychological interventions, strategies to support success in algebra and mathematics, and use of early warning systems ...
Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds is a managing researcher at the AIR in Washington, DC, where she serves as the co-director of the National Center on Intensive Intervention, and as project director for an Investing in Innovation and Improvement (i3) Development Grant. She previously coordinated services for the Response to Intervention Center ...
Gee Rege is a senior industrial-organizational researcher at AIR. She conducts applied research and consulting in the areas of human capital and workforce development for public and private employers, associations, and foundations. Rege’s work focuses on personnel selection and retention, skills-based practices, and strategies aimed at reducing barriers to gainful ...