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Catherine Hersey, a senior associate, is a seasoned health services researcher and project manager with over 15 years of experience in both Medicare and Medicaid. Her research areas include the implementation and evaluation of accountable care organizations and other alternative payment models, maternal health, substance use disorder, meaningful use of electronic health records, and hospital-acquired infections. Hersey also has experience in quality measurement and improvement. In addition, she has experience in both quantitative and qualitative analyses and managing large and complex projects.

Allison Dymnicki has 19 years of experience in designing, directing, and conducting research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects aimed at promoting youth development, behavioral health, and wellbeing, with a particular focus on school, community, and out-of-school settings. She is deeply committed to promoting positive outcomes for all youth, particularly populations who have been historically underserved or are under-resourced. She has partnered with federal agencies like the National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and the Department of Education, as well as foundations, state and local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations. Much of her work focuses on developing researcher practitioner partnerships intended to elevate diverse perspectives, practitioner viewpoints, and youth voices. 

Dr. Jennifer Bronson is a medical sociologist with 16 years of experience conducting complex quantitative, qualitative, and evaluation studies designed to improve the health and safety  of individuals and communities. She focuses on criminal justice and behavioral health research. Her research findings have provided support for correctional and community-based health programming and policy change. Her research also helps reimagine law enforcement and behavioral health crisis responses. Bronson has worked closely with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); the  Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); and various state government agencies and community groups. She helps them develop, manage, and implement tailored surveys, research studies, and program evaluations.

Stan Crock has more than 40 years of writing experience, including three decades as a journalist for major news outlets, more than a decade of proposal writing, and marketing and communications experience. He has written for such outlets as Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The New Republic, Investopedia, TheStreet.com, and bestsories.ca. He has worked on proposals for Accenture, McKinsey, IBM, Abt Global, and other firms. Crock has worked in marketing and media relations for Abt since 2018.

Ellen Bobronnikov has extensive research and evaluation experience in educational and social policy in both domestic and international contexts. Her focus includes project management, evaluations of federal and local programs, and the provision of technical assistance. She has experience conducting impact, implementation, and process studies.

Shelly Spoeth brings more than 25 years of strategic communication and social marketing experience to tackling complex health and social issues.  She  worked for a decade with pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients while at public relations firms including Ketchum, FleishmanHillard and Cohn & Wolfe. She then worked as a consultant for government and nonprofit clients, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on behavioral change challenges ranging from HIV/AIDS to COVID-19. Spoeth has implemented, evaluated, and managed dozens of projects that improved health outcomes. Her capabilities include formative research and digital outreach.

Sean McClellan, Ph.D. is a mixed-methods researcher with over a decade of experience in full cycle health services research. He has experience managing research projects, developing analytic designs, cleaning and analyzing administrative data, fielding rigorous surveys, conducting qualitative interviews, and communicating findings in plain language.

Katrina L. Bledsoe, Ph.D., is a trained evaluator, mixed methodologist, and social psychologist with evaluation experience in both U.S. and international settings. Dr. Bledsoe’s evaluation work has focused on community-based social services, health and education evaluation and programming, mixed methodology and methods, theory-driven evaluation, culturally responsive and equity-focused approaches, and topics in applied social psychology.

Lisa Tarantino has 25 years of experience designing, managing, and evaluating complex global health and development programs. She has managed global, regional, and national initiatives for health finance, system strengthening, and private sector financing in 20+ countries. Lisa is a thought leader in sustainable approaches that enable transition from development partner support. Lisa has been a professor and advisor to the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs’ Economic and Political Development program and the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies’ International Development program.

Beth Boulay has 15 years of experience using robust evaluation tools and methods to generate evidence practitioners need to make critical decisions. Her work includes designing and conducting research aimed at identifying effective education interventions that promise to improve student achievement and education outcomes. She has led large-scale, complex evaluations that use a range of research methodologies to assess the impact of policies and programs. Boulay also provides evaluation technical assistance to help increase local evaluators’ capacity to produce rigorous evidence of program effectiveness and implementation fidelity.