Team

Douglas Ready is an Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy, and the Director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. His research explores the links between education policy, social policy, and educational equity, with a particular focus on how contemporary policies and programs moderate or exacerbate socio-demographic disparities in student outcomes. This work has received over $12 million in support from government and private philanthropic organizations, including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, Spencer Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, Jacobs Foundation, Rauch Foundation, Fundação Lemann, Itaú Social, and Instituto Peninsula. Representative publications have appeared in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Policy, Sociology of Education, American Educational Research Journal, American Journal of Education, Teachers College Record, Research in Higher Education, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Early Education and Development, as well as in books and edited volumes published by the Brookings Institution, Teachers College Press, and the American Educational Research Association. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Sociology of Education, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and American Educational Research Journal. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.

Katharine Conn is a Senior Research Scientist at CPRE. Her current research focuses on issues of quality and access in primary and secondary education, teacher retention, teacher professional development, school-to-work transitions in developing countries, and the use of meta-analysis in education research. Her current projects at CPRE include evaluations of the following programs: a teacher incentive program in Ohio, a teacher residency program in NYC, a personalized instructional model in New Jersey, and a teacher pre-service program in Thailand.

Katharine’s prior experience includes working as an evaluation consultant for The World Bank’s education research group, coordinating impact evaluations in education and public health for Innovations for Poverty Action in Kenya, conducting evaluations of education reforms for the Ministry of Education in Rwanda and UNICEF India, and serving as a high school mathematics & biology teacher for the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa.

Katharine holds a B.A. in Political Science (International Relations) from Duke University, an M.A. in Public Administration in International Development (MPA-ID) from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Ph.D. in Economics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Wakasa Nagakura is a Senior Research Scientist with CPRE. Her current research focuses on issues of effective mathematical instruction, writing instruction for non-native students, professional development for teachers, school-to-work transitions in developing countries, and the use of mixed design of quantitative and qualitative research in education. Her current projects at CPRE include evaluations of the following programs: a teacher residency program in NYC (Teacher Residence at Teachers College), a teacher pre-service program evaluation in Thailand, professional development of STEM teachers in Thailand, and professional development of Japanese teachers who teach English. She also spends time supporting Japanese-English bilingual students to develop literacy skills that are required in American schools.

Wakasa holds a B.A. in Journalism from Sophia University in Japan, an M.S. in communication from Boston University and Ph.D. in Cognitive Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Melissa Arnold Lyon is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and a Senior Research Scientist at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Melissa studies how institutions and organized interests shape the political economy of education with a particular focus on inequality, federalism, and teacher politics and policy. She has published on topics including teachers' unions, teacher candidates for elected office, philanthropies, education governance, and local politics of education. Her current research focuses on teacher unionization and labor markets.

Melissa received her PhD in Politics & Education in 2020. Before pursuing her doctorate, she taught middle school in Houston, TX. You can find more information about Melissa at melissa-lyon.com. 

Katharine Parham Malhotra is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia and a Senior Research Scientist at CPRE at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research examines issues of equity in P-20 education policies and programs, with a particular eye toward the equity issues in special education and across school choice policies. 

Katharine began her career as a special education teacher and Assistant Principal in New Orleans, LA. She has also worked as an education policy analyst with the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Senate Education Committee. 

Katharine received her Ph.D. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2023. She also holds a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Political Science with Honors from the University of South Carolina. You can learn more about Katharine at www.katharinemalhotra.com. 

Shani Bretas is a Senior Researcher  at CPRE and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include examining the sociological conditions that create educational inequality and evaluating policies and programs designed to address inequality, particularly those targeted to reach the technical core of teaching and learning in K-12 schools. At CPRE, Shani assists in conducting mixed-methods evaluations focused on a range of topics including teacher training and retention as well as incorporating educational technologies into the classroom.

Prior to beginning her doctoral studies and joining the CPRE team, Shani spent eight years as a social studies teacher, program assistant, and testing coordinator at a public high school in Brooklyn, NY. She earned an M.A. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in Education and History from Vanderbilt University.

Isabel Linacre is a Researcher at CPRE and Project Lead for the evaluation of the Robin Hood Learning + Tech Fund's Computational Thinking Pre-Service Teacher Training Initiative. She also works primarily on the evaluation of Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund’s Blended Literacy, the evaluation of Blue Engine's Co-Teaching model, and the implementation study of Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base (BNCC).

Prior to attending Teachers College, Isabel was a secondary school French and German teacher in London. She holds a B.A. in French and German from Bristol University, a PGCE from University College London, and an M.A. in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Samantha Parang is a Researcher at CPRE and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. Samantha’s current research interests include national and international early childhood education policy and early childhood workforce development, with a focus on leadership development and its impacts on early childhood program quality. 

Prior to joining CPRE, Samantha was the Director of Professional Learning, Policy, and Implementation at the New York City Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood Education. Samantha earned a Master’s degree in Urban Education, Policy, and Administration from Loyola Marymount University and a Master’s degree in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Carolina Snaider is a Researcher at CPRE and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also a Research Assistant at the National Center for Children and Families. Her research interests relate to the design and implementation of high quality, equitable early childhood programs and policies for all young children and their families.

Formerly a preschool teacher, Carolina worked on educational policy and program evaluations at the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI). She also served as a consultant of the Argentinean committee of the World Organization of Early Childhood Education (OMEP). Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she was working at the Ministry of Education of the City of Buenos Aires as an assistant to the Director of the Department of Educational Evaluation. Carolina holds an M.A. in Educational Administration from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and a B.A. in Psychology from Universidad de Belgrano.

Arti Anand is a Research Assistant at CPRE and an M.A. student of Sociology and Education with a concentration in Education Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include examining the sociological conditions that create and perpetuate gender, racial, and caste-based inequity, starting from early childhood through K-12 and into postsecondary education, with a particular interest in family and school-based policies and programs.

Prior to joining CPRE and beginning her graduate studies, Arti taught middle school literacy, mathematics, and science at a low-income public school for girls in Hyderabad, India. She holds a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Philosophy from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi.

Claire Delcourt is a Research Assistant at CPRE and a Ph.D. student in the Department of
Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. Some of her
research interests include school reform, teacher and leader retention, as well as culturally
responsive curriculum and pedagogy. Prior to attending Teachers College, Claire was an educator
for seven years working in middle and high schools in Nashville, TN, in both traditional public and
charter schools. She taught ELA, coordinated school assessments and data analysis, and coached
humanities and mathematics teachers in instructional practices. She has also worked in graduate
school admissions at the College of Education, Lipscomb University. She is a member of the
Educators' Cooperative in Nashville, a professional development group created by and for teachers. She earned an M.Ed. in Instructional Practice from Lipscomb University and a B.A. in Public Policy from the College of William & Mary.

Rebecca Shmoys is a Research Assistant at CPRE and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include examining how policies and practices intended to address inequity, both in the K-12 setting and postsecondary transition, impact student outcomes, with a particular interest in intentionally diverse schools and school choice.

Prior to joining CPRE, Rebecca worked as an Assistant Principal at Valor Collegiate Academies. She previously taught middle school math and algebra in Nashville, Tennessee. She has also served as a Federal Analyst at Deloitte Consulting. She earned a M.Ed. in Instructional Practice from Lipscomb University and an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Dr. Elsie C. Spencer is the Center Administrator for the Consortium for Policy Research in
Education at Teachers College (CPRE-TC), Columbia University. Dr. Spencer oversees the
administrative, financial, and personnel administration at CPRE-TC. Prior to this position Dr.
Spencer was a department administrator and laboratory manager at Weill Cornell Medicine and
was responsible for a multitude of cross functional responsibilities including pre- and post-award
grant administration, faculty recruitment, retention, and development, and laboratory personnel
management. She received her Ed.D. in 2019 from the University of Pennsylvania in Higher Education Management and her M.P.A. in 2007 from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Heidi Booth was a research assistant at CPRE from 2019-2020 and a Masters Student in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College, specializing in data analysis and research methods. Prior to coming to Teachers College, she worked at the Institute for Educational Leadership on projects supporting transition pathways for students with disabilities and disconnected youth. Currently, Heidi is a Research Analyst at Georgetown Univeristy's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). Heidi holds a BA in political economy with a minor in education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Iris Daruwala was a researcher at CPRE from 2017-2020. During this time, she led the implementation study of Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), the evaluation of Cignition's FogStone Isle, and worked on the i3 evaluation of Teach to One: Math as well as the evaluation of the Breakthrough Charter Schools performance-based compensation program. She is currently a Senior Associate at Social Policy Research Associates in Oakland, CA. Iris is a graduate of the Sociology and Education Ph.D. program at Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Melissa Gutwein was a Research Assistant at CPRE from 2019-2021.  Prior to joining CPRE, Melissa worked as a research assistant at Michigan State University's Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) and as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools.  Currently she is a Senior Research Analyst at NORC at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include teacher labor markets and racial and socioeconomic segregation. Melissa holds a B.A. in Special Education from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Christy was a Research Assistant at CPRE from 2019-2020. During this time, she worked on the evaluation of Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund’s Blended Literacy Programs and the evaluation of Blue Engine's Co-Teaching Model.

Before joining the CPRE team, she taught fourth grade reading and social studies as a Teach for America corps member in Jacksonville. Currently, she is an analyst at Ithaka S+R. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University and an M.A. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Anna Moyer was a Research Assistant at CPRE from 2017-2019. During this time, she worked on the implementation study of Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), the evaluation of Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund’s Blended Literacy Program in New York City, and the i3 evaluation of Teach to One: Math in Elizabeth, N.J.

Anna is currently a Ph.D student in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Prior to her studies, she taught middle school social studies and literacy and served as the Chief of Staff to the London Director at Teach First in the United Kingdom.

She earned a B.A. in Urban Studies from Wellesley College and an M.A. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Leslie was a Research Assistant at CPRE from 2018-2019. In this role, she worked on a Randomized Control Trial of Cignition's FogStone Isle. Additionally, she supported The American Museum of Natural History in analyzing data and developing more systemic data collection practices.

Prior to CPRE, she was a 4th and 5th grade teacher in Seattle, Washington. Currently, she is the ELA Content Lead with Instruction Partners in Indianapolis. There, she applies the data analysis skills she honed at CPRE to better support the students and teachers in Indianapolis Public Schools.

She earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Sociology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Emma was a Research Assistant at CPRE from 2018-2020. During this time, she worked on the evaluation of Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund’s Blended Literacy & Computational Thinking Programs in New York City. She also supported the evaluation of Blue Engine's AmeriCorps and Co-Teaching Models.