Team

As President and Principal Consultant of EVALCORP, Kristen assists agencies in determining current and future needs, measuring the impacts of programs and initiatives, and providing planning and development services for maximized effectiveness.

Kristen began her career as an internal evaluator for county and state government where she not only assessed the impacts of numerous government funded programs, but also became acutely aware of the complex environments in which programs and public policy originate. She maintains decades of subject matter expertise in the fields of mental health, criminal justice, public health, education, children’s services, and organizational development. She brings her pragmatic, utilization-focused and empowerment-centered approach to her love of evaluation, strategic planning, and needs assessment work – and is humbled by the incredible work EVALCORP’s clients engage in on a daily basis.

Education

Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology – Loyola University Chicago

M.A. in Applied Social Psychology – Loyola University Chicago

B.A. in Psychology with Business Administration Minor – St. Mary’s University of Minnesota

Alex consults on project teams in the fields of mental and behavioral health, substance use prevention, and public health. As a Project Consultant, Alex brings her experience in community research and evaluation to inform planning and design, data collection tool development, qualitative data analysis, report writing, and presentation of evaluation findings to diverse stakeholder groups with culturally responsive approaches. Alex supports data collection efforts through the facilitation of focus groups, interviews, and listening sessions in both English and Spanish. In addition to her work at EVALCORP, Alex spends her time in academia as a Teaching Associate at UCI.

Education

Ph.D. Candidate in Criminology Law, and Society – University of California, Irvine

M.P.P. – University of California, Irvine

B.A. in Political Science – University of California, Los Angeles

As a Project Consultant, Gabriela consults on project teams across the fields of early childhood development, education, and substance use prevention. Additionally, Gabriela supports data collection efforts through the facilitation of focus groups, interviews, and listening sessions in both English and Spanish.

Education

M.P.P.  – University of California, Irvine

B.A. in Criminology, Law and Society – University of California, Irvine

Ryan assists on project teams to support evaluation activities across the fields of mental health and education. As a Research Associate II, Ryan conducts quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses, creates data collection tools, and develops actionable reports and other project deliverables. Ryan has over three years of experience in project and quality management and over seven years of experience in research design, evaluation, and data analysis. His research and methodological consulting experience span a wide variety of contexts, including basic and applied research, quantitative and qualitative methods, and includes work in the fields of mental health, cognitive psychology, higher education, gender studies, meta-science, and microbiology.

In addition, Ryan has taught university courses in applied statistics, research methods, and social psychology. His content expertise includes statistics, psychology of science, feminist methodology, and judgment and decision making.

Education

Ph.D. in Psychology – Miami University

M.S. in Statistics – Miami University

M.A. in Psychology – Miami University

B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics – Michigan State University

B.S. in Psychology – Michigan State University

Elia assists on project teams to support data collection and a variety of program evaluation activities. She is an American Evaluation Association (AEA) Graduate Education Diversity Intern (GEDI) Scholar. In addition to document reviews, Elia performs quantitative and qualitative data entry and analyses, supports client and team meetings, and assists with data visualization and report development.

Elia brings experience in community-centered program evaluation and culturally responsive approaches to her work at EVALCORP. She maintains expertise in multiple domains including mental and behavioral health, elementary education, STEM research for low-income college students, and factors that contribute to Latina teenage pregnancy rates. She has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant at University of Arizona. Elia is a fourth-year Ph.D. Student in Family Studies and Human Development at University of Arizona.

Education

M.A. in  Psychology – Texas State University

B.A. in Psychology –  Texas State University

Celina works on project teams in the fields of mental health and criminal justice. As a Research Associate I, Celina uses her methodological expertise to collect, analyze, and interpret qualitative and quantitative data to inform clients’ decisions and optimize their effectiveness. An experienced evaluator, Celina focuses on helping clients understand and utilize evaluation skills and findings. Prior to joining EVALCORP, Celina worked in education as a teacher and as a program evaluator. She earned her M.A. in Education with a focus in Social Research Methodology at the University of California, Los Angeles. There, her work focused on programs that support underrepresented communities through education, social service, and youth service programming.

Education

M.A. in Education, Social Research Methodology – University of California, Los Angeles

B.A. in Spanish (minor in Education) – Wellesley College

Anthony works on project teams to collect and analyze client data sets across the fields of mental health, tobacco control, community health and substance use prevention. As a Research Associate II, Anthony develops evaluation and data analysis plans, designs and administers data collection tools (e.g., surveys, focus group items, and stakeholder interview protocols), and conducts quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses. An experienced psychometrician, Anthony focuses on the theory and technique of psychological measurement concerning skills and knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, clinical constructs, and mental health issues.

Before joining EVALCORP, Anthony taught courses in educational theory, linguistics, and social justice at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has published research articles and book chapters in the areas of measurement, validity, data quality, and the process by which people learn to interpret data representations.

Education

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Education – University of California, Santa Barbara

M.A. in Education – University of California, Santa Barbara

M.A. in French Language and Culture – Middlebury College

B.A. in Philosophy – Sewanee: The University of The South

Meghan supports project teams across the fields of mental health and community health. As a project assistant, Meghan assists with data collection (e.g., surveys, interviews, and focus groups), performs data entry, and prepares actionable, user-friendly reports and other project deliverables. Meghan is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of California-Irvine studying risk and protective factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Education

M.S. in Gerontology – University of Southern California

B.S. in Neurobiology – University of California-Davis

Kelly is a licensed social worker with a master’s degree from Columbia University. She has spent the last decade promoting social justice and amplifying the voices of marginalized populations, specifically justice-involved and low-income individuals and families, through program monitoring, evaluation, and community-based and interdisciplinary research. Kelly began her career as a forensic social worker in Family Court and has worked on numerous federally funded justice programs and initiatives. Kelly’s expertise also includes consulting services to the federal government through the Administration for Children and Families. More recently, Kelly has been involved in both internal and external evaluation roles, supporting large court and criminal justice systems. She is adept at developing data processes and tools for deferred prosecution programs, overseeing the data management of large multi-pronged jail reduction efforts, creating internal and external dashboards to promote transparency, and managing large and complex datasets to inform decision making and creating actionable insights for stakeholders. 

Education

M.S.W. in Social Work – Columbia University

B.A. in Psychology and Sociology – Boston College

Kelly consults on project teams in the field of early childhood education and child development. As a Senior Consultant, Kelly brings her more than 15 years of experience in research and mixed-methods assessment in the field of child development and psychology to inform evaluation planning and design, data collection tool creation, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, report writing and presentation of evaluation findings to diverse stakeholder groups.

In addition to her work at EVALCORP, Kelly spends her time in academia as a Guest Lecturer, and most recently, as a Postdoctoral Scholar at UCLA.

Education

Ph.D in Education – University of California, Los Angeles

B.A. in Psychology – University of California, Los Angeles

Rae brings over 20 years of municipal and county government experience to EVALCORP, specializing in substance use prevention, mental health, and community health promotion. As a Senior Consultant, Rae supports projects focused on policy development, multiagency collaboration, innovative community partnerships, data report cards, and system-level change initiatives.

While serving as mayor and eight-year councilmember in Ojai, California, Rae advanced the county’s first Social Host Ordinance to reduce youth alcohol use and launched an interagency taskforce to enhance substance use prevention strategies. She has supported numerous youth substance use prevention projects from data- and community informed perspectives and brings decades of experience in environmental prevention to our work.

Education

Attended Loyola University Chicago

A.A. in Liberal Studies ­– Ventura College

Alex is a behavioral and cognitive scientist with over 15 years of end-to-end research program management. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology with a focus on the behavioral and cognitive neurosciences. Prior to joining EVALCORP, Alex oversaw longitudinal research studies and clinical trials focused on women’s health outcomes across the adult lifespan as well as how stress exposure impacted health outcomes in later life. At EVALCORP, Alex works on projects to support all aspects of the evaluation and assessment process, from methods development to deliverables.

Education

Ph.D. in Psychology, emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience – University of Southern California

M.A. in Psychology, emphasis in Behavioral Neuroscience – University of Southern California

B.A. in Psychology – University of Southern California

Andrea Holmes is an accomplished writer, urban planner, and policy expert. She brings to the team 10 years of project management experience at the intersection of public policy, infrastructure development, and digital strategy. Before joining EVALCORP, Andrea oversaw proposal writing and management of a multi-year, multi-million dollar grant with the US Department of Transportation on behalf of the University of Southern California. Andrea is trained in human-centered design and has applied this skillset at the municipal level, leading the procurement and design of the City of Toronto’s first digital payment platform serving 3 million+ citizens. In 2021, she received the Toronto City Manager’s Award of Excellence for her contribution to government service transformation. In addition, Andrea brings extensive experience organizing and facilitating stakeholder consultations with diverse communities on behalf of all three levels of government.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Andrea’s early involvement as a Legislative Page at the age of 13 built her dedication to making a difference. Her passion for creating livable, healthy cities is the driving force behind her accomplishments. Andrea holds a Master of Urban Planning (M.U.P.) from the University of Southern California and a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) from the University of Toronto.

Education

M.U.P. – University of Southern California

M.P.P. – University of Toronto

Ian lends his data analysis expertise on complex projects across the fields of criminal justice and substance use prevention. As a Senior Data Analyst, Ian designs and manages complex data systems with datasets often exceeding millions of cases. He also provides expertise and technical support for intricate data analysis, and is EVALCORP’s ‘go to’ when It comes to large, messy administrative datasets.

As an industry thought leader, Ian has published nearly a dozen academic and professional reports on approaches to reentry, recidivism, drug use prevention, addiction treatment, foster care placement, child welfare research, and HIV risk behavior. Additionally, Ian holds accreditation from the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management as a Certified Court Manager.

Education

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Social Work – University of Illinois at Chicago

MSW – University of Illinois at Chicago

M.A. in Psychology – San Francisco State University

B.A. in Psychology – University of Tennessee

As EVALCORP’s Project and Development Coordinator, Sally leads and supports client work including evaluation, strategic planning, capacity building, and needs assessment projects. She assists in the development of evaluation and methodological plans, conducts quantitative and qualitative data collection, and leads key components of report development. Additionally, Sally coordinates and oversees business development activities and web/brand initiatives in support of firm growth.

Before joining EVALCORP, Sally specialized in marketing and public health, with her previous work including digital health communication, non-profit, and substance abuse prevention.

Education

M.P.H. – University of Southern California

B.A. in Psychology – Johns Hopkins University

Breena supports project teams with data collection and program evaluation activities. As a Research Assistant, Breena conducts literature reviews, performs quantitative and qualitative data entry and analyses, supports data collection activities (e.g., coordinating, scheduling, and taking notes of focus groups and interviews), and develops user-friendly reports and other project deliverables.

Breena has experience in econometrics and income fluctuations, and prior to joining EVALCORP, worked as a graduate assistant at California State University, Long Beach.

Education

M.A. in Economics – California State University, Long Beach

B.A. in Economics – University of California, Riverside

Will brings a decade of program evaluation and data analysis experience to EVALCORP with expertise in education, research, and evaluation. As a Senior Data Analyst, Will establishes strong foundations for drawing meaningful insights from quantitative and qualitative data, diagnoses problems, and develops personalized data products for clients to better understand their programs so they can make better decisions.

Will has worked on multiple research projects, presenting findings and best methodology practices at multiple local and national conferences. He is a member of the American Evaluation Association and the American Educational Research Association. He is also a certified SAS programmer and holds teaching and school administrator certifications.

Education

M.A. in Educational Leadership – Western Michigan University

Teaching Certificate, Secondary Mathematics & English – Eastern Michigan University

B.S. in Mathematics, Cum Laude – Eastern Michigan University

B.A. in English Language and Literature – University of Michigan

Stacy is an applied developmental psychologist with over seven years of experience in research design, implementation, and data analysis. Her research and methodological skills include basic and applied research, quantitative and qualitative methods across the fields of mental health, criminal justice, child welfare, medicine, and public policy. Prior to joining the EVALCORP team, Stacy taught university courses in applied statistics, research methods, and psychology. Her background also includes work as a teacher, counselor, and advocate at non-profit organizations.

Education

Ph.D. in Psychological Science – University of California, Irvine

M.A. in Social Ecology – University of California, Irvine

B.A. in Psychology summa cum laude – University of San Francisco

Elyse works on project teams to support evaluation activities across the fields of early childhood development, education, and family services. As a Research Assistant II, Elyse administers data collection tools (e.g., surveys, focus group items, and stakeholder interview protocols), conducts quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses, and develops user-friendly reports and other project deliverables.

As a detail-oriented social scientist, Elyse has previously worked as both a research assistant and teaching assistant at the University of Arizona, with a research focus on health and inequality.

Education

M.A. in Sociology – University of Arizona

B.A. in Sociology – University of Oklahoma

Tara is an applied social psychologist with over a decade of training and experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, including a special focus on survey design and methodology. She has conducted research on how to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness and increase support to individuals affected by mental health challenges. Prior to joining the EvalCorp team, Tara worked for more than 9 years in the field of clinical research investigating treatments for cognitive and mental health conditions. 

Education

Ph.D. in Basic and Applied Social Psychology – Claremont Graduate University

M.A. in Social Psychology – Claremont Graduate University

M.A. in Clinical Psychology – Pepperdine University

B.S. in Psychology – University of La Verne

Devan consults on project teams in the fields children’s services (0-5), mental health, criminal justice, and public health. As a Senior Consultant, Devan brings her experience as an epidemiologist and data analyst to assist with all stages of the evaluation process. Additionally, Devan uses her skills in SQL, Python, Tableau and R to assist with extracting, assembling, analyzing, and presenting quantitative data, and specializes in developing data dashboards.

In addition to her work at EVALCORP, Devan is an Epidemiologist with NASA-contracted MEI Technologies on their Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health team. Prior to MEI, Devan worked as a Data Analytics Specialist, Quantitative Research Associate, and Data Analyst for organizations ranging from Baylor College of Medicine to First 5 Los Angeles.

Education

M.P.H.– Indiana University

B.S. in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Administration – University of Minnesota

As a Senior Editor, Shanti ensures all our written reports, briefs and client materials are high quality, concise, and client friendly. She brings over 25 years of grant development experience to the firm and supports our project work in the realms of criminal justice, mental health, public policy, and education.

Education

M.A. in Social Psychology – Loyola University Chicago

B.S. in Psychology – Loyola University Chicago

As a Senior Consultant, Tronie brings her more than 20 years of experience as an applied researcher and statistician. Tronie’s expertise in all aspects of evaluation and research design, instrument development, quantitative and qualitative methods and analysis, and report writing enable her to easily address program evaluation challenges and provide useful information for program improvement and decision-making.

Tronie consults on project teams in the fields of public health, mental health, education, and children’s services (0-5). Additionally, Tronie specializes in statistics and large volumes of both quantitative and qualitative data. She also spends her time in academia as a Psychology Professor at Los Angeles Community College.

Education

Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Research Methods – University of California, Los Angeles

M.S. in Psychology – California State University, Los Angeles

B.S. in Russian – Georgetown University

As a Senior Research Consultant at EVALCORP, Lois works on mental health and criminal justice projects leading the creation of data collection tools, analyzes data, writes reports, and disseminates findings to diverse stakeholder groups. Additionally, Lois teaches in the Master of Public Health program at the University of Nevada Reno and holds an EdD in Learning and Instruction from the University of San Francisco, as well as an MS-HCA in Health Care Administration, MA in Anthropology, and an MS in Health Education.

Prior to joining EVALCORP, Lois worked as a research consultant on national and statewide projects. The topics have included substance misuse, human trafficking, domestic violence, telehealth, teenage pregnancy prevention, and other public health topics. Lois has written evaluation plans, community health needs assessments, community health improvement plans, and IRB applications; developed data collection tools and curriculum; analyzed data; and written reports. She has experience with a variety of data collection methods such as survey development, focus groups, interviews, and observational studies. She has presented at regional, national, and international conferences and is a published author.

Professional Associations/Affiliations

National Coalition of Telehealth Equity

AEA Multi-Ethnic Evaluation Topical Interest Group

Education

EdD in Learning and Instruction – University of San Francisco

MS-HCA, Health Care Administration – California State University, East Bay

M.A. in Anthropology (Social and Cultural) – California State University, East Bay

M.S. in Health Science (Health Education) – San Francisco State University

B.S. in Human Services Administration – College of Notre Dame

Lorena brings more than 22 years of experience to EVALCORP with content expertise in criminal justice, substance abuse treatment and prevention, human services, and education, and provides data management on large-scale projects across the fields of criminal justice and substance use prevention. As a Senior Data Manager, Lorena establishes and manages complex databases, provides statistical consultation to clients, and develops actionable recommendations for clients based upon quantitative and qualitative information.

Lorena has worked on multiple federally funded projects and regularly presents findings from her work with community-based agencies at local and national conferences. She is a member of the American Evaluation Association, American Society of Criminology, and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), and holds accreditation from the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management as a Certified Court Manager.

Education

M.A. in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Research and Evaluation – Loyola University Chicago

B.A. in Social Ecology (concentration in Psychology and Social Behavior) – University of California, Irvine

B.S. in Social Sciences (concentration in Research and Analytic Methods) – University of California, Irvine

Mariana de Santibañes holds a Ph.D in Public Policy from New York University, where she conducted research in the intersections of gender, social, labor, and family policy. Her work has focused on studying the processes by which welfare states recognize, assume, and promote social co-responsibility in caregiving, as well as the conditions that facilitate the emergence of transformative care policies and gender equality policies across the Americas. Recently, she also investigated the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on family dynamics and women’s standard of living across ten countries.

Mariana’s educational background includes a Licenciatura in Philosophy from the University of Buenos Aires and a Masters in Public Administration from NYU, which have provided her with a broad perspective on various disciplines. Before joining Evalcorp, Mariana worked in various roles in research and evaluation, where she actively explored critical topics within her field and dedicated her efforts to addressing the needs and challenges faced by marginalized communities, including Indigenous women, undocumented immigrants, waste pickers, and domestic workers.

Education

Ph.D. in Public Policy – New York University

M.P.A. – New York University

Licenciatura in Philosophy – University of Buenos Aires

Sarah is a key team member for multiple program evaluation and evaluation capacity building projects at the firm. As a Project Assistant, Sarah conducts literature reviews, assists with data collection tool creation and implementation, facilitates interviews and focus groups, and supports data entry and analysis activities. She is a Health Psychology PhD student at the University of California-Irvine, and her academic research experience centers on markers of risk and resilience to health outcomes in trauma-exposed populations, primarily survivors of childhood maltreatment.

Education

M.A. in Social Ecology – University of California, Irvine

B.S. in Psychology – University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

As a Research Associate I at EVALCORP, Luis supports and leads key components of data collection, analysis and interpretation components of evaluation, needs assessment, and strategic planning projects for government and non-profit agencies. Luis has been trained in, and has published using, qualitative, quantitative, and experimental methods. He specializes in qualitative methods. Luis has research experience in criminology, deviance, drug and alcohol use, education, public health, qualitative methods, and decision-making. Before joining EVALCORP, Luis worked as a postdoctoral fellow at UCLouvain (Belgium) studying how public policy affects public support for the European Union. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Aarhus University (Denmark), where he helped lead a qualitative research project on public attitudes about experts.

Education

Ph.D. in Sociology (Graduate Minor in Cognitive Science) – University of Arizona

M.A. in Sociology – University of Arizona

B.A. in Sociology (Minor in Business Administration, Cum Laude) – Seattle University

Gabrielle is a nurse scientist with over seven years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods in addition to over two years of community engagement. Her research has focused on examining how parenting both affects and is affected by the experience of having a stroke as well as structural and social drivers of inequities in stroke risk among working-age adults. As a Research Associate I, she uses her expertise to support development of program evaluation plans, data collection tool design and administration, and quantitative and qualitative data analyses.  Prior to joining EVALCORP, Gabrielle led and supported health equity research projects where she worked with a variety of stakeholders to improve the health of marginalized communities.

Education

Ph.D. in Nursing – Duke University

M.S. in Nursing – Winston-Salem State University

B.S. in Nursing – Winston-Salem State University

Allison consults on project teams in the field of early childhood education and utilizes her time from her work at First 5 Los Angeles as the Evaluation and Learning Manager to inform project work. As a Senior Consultant, Allison brings her more than 15 years of experience in research and evaluation in the field of children’s health and development to inform evaluation design, data collection activities – both qualitative and quantitative, statistical analyses, and interpretation of findings. She is adept at building and facilitating evaluation capacity-building training, as well as making evaluation activities easy and straightforward for clients.

Prior to joining EVALCORP, Allison conducted RCT research to investigate the effectiveness of home-based parenting interventions for at-risk children.

Education

Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior with a minor in Quantitative Methods – University of California, Irvine

B.S. in Psychology – University of Mary Washington

Valerie brings more than 15 years of experience in communication and design consulting to EVALCORP. As Senior Development Consultant, she provides guidance on our printed and digital communication, public outreach, and visual identity. She also provides communication consulting for client reports and publications, presentations, community-facing information, and public education and outreach materials. Valerie has content expertise in criminal justice, education, and gendered violence, and has worked in the nonprofit, private, and higher education sectors.

In addition to her time with EVALCORP, Valerie teaches university classes on communication, persuasion, race, and gender. She regularly presents findings from her research on public advocacy and media at local and national conferences.

Education

Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Culture – Indiana University, Bloomington

M.A. in Multicultural Communication – DePaul University

B.F.A. in Graphic Design – Iowa State University

For the past 5 years, Shayla has supported our Development Team through the identification of new business opportunities, design and submission of proposals, communication with potential new clients, and preparation of fulfillment staff for new projects. Additionally, she has content experience across the fields of public health, mental health, education, tobacco control, and substance use prevention.

Before her time with EVALCORP, Shayla taught research methods at the University of California, Irvine and worked with the Center of Evidence Based Corrections to evaluate a criminal justice re-entry program in Los Angeles County.

Education

M.P.P. in Public Policy – University of California, Irvine

B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis on social inequality – University of California, San Diego