Team

Alex J. Bowers is a Professor of Education Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he works to help school leaders use the data that they already collect in schools in more effective ways to help direct the limited resources of schools and districts to specific student needs. His research focuses on the intersection of effective school and district leadership, organization and HR, data driven decision making, student grades and test scores, student persistence and dropouts. His work also considers the influence of school finance, facilities, and technology on student achievement. Dr. Bowers studies these domains through the application of data science, and big data analytics, such as data visualization analytics, multilevel and growth mixture modeling, and cluster analysis heatmap data dashboards. He earned his Ph.D. in K12 Educational Administration from Michigan State University, and previous to teaching and education research, spent a decade as a cancer researcher in the biotechnology industry, with a M.S. in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, and a B.S. in Biochemistry. Dr. Bowers is the recipient of multiple awards, including being the first person to win both the AERA Emerging Scholar Award for Division A (Administration, Organization and Leadership), and the UCEA Jack A. Culbertson Award for outstanding early faculty research, both in 2012. He was named an Outstanding Reviewer of the Year for the journals American Educational Research Journal (2009), Educational Administration Quarterly (2012 & 2016) and the Journal of Educational Administration (2018). Dr. Bowers is a faculty advisor to the Harvard Strategic Data Project, is an Associate Editor of the journal Educational Administration Quarterly and currently serves on the editorial boards of the journals American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Administration, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and is co-editor of volume 4 (2013) volume 5 (2014) and volume 6 (2015) of the Information Age Publishing book series International Research on School Leadership. He has served as Principal or co-Principal Investigator on over $1.5 million in externally funded research grant projects. In 2019, Dr. Bowers served as a Thomas J. Alexander Fellow at the OECD headquarters (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Paris, France.

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Kari Morris (they/them) is a multi-hyphenate artist, educator, researcher, and serves as Project Manager for ELDA. For the past decade, they've successfully mentored teams and facilitated initiatives that enable student equity and empower student expression. Most recently, they were an instrumental part of the Bridges project, a K-2 curriculum model that combines arts, literacy, and SEL, researched and refined over an 8 year period in collaboration with ArtsResearch, ArtsConnection, and over 100 public school teachers in Queens and Brooklyn. Kari is an alumnus of Millikin University, The School of Drama at the New School, and Teachers College's TACTC certificate program in responsive pedagogy. They're excited to support the vital storytelling work of ELDA. 

Yeonsoo Choi (she/her/hers) is a Ph.D. student in the Sociology and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her current research interests include the sociology of teaching and teachers’ identities, the sociology of elite education, globalization and education policy, critical policy analysis, and mixed method research. Yeonsoo is interested in understanding the impact of education policies on people’s behaviors and attitudes and hopes to utilize various methods to address these questions. Prior to joining Teachers College, she worked as a research assistant for education policy research projects funded by the Ministry of Education, South Korea, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Education from Yonsei University, South Korea.

Jonathan Williams is a Ph.D. student in the Social-Organizational Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research interests include network analysis of digital communications, the role of demography in networks, the influence of network heterogeneity on goal pursuit and well-being, and investigating the role of AI in decision-making dynamics. Jonathan is particularly focused on how organizational studies and the integration of technology can foster equitable choices and bolster resilience. This line of inquiry reflects his commitment to enhancing community sustainability and adaptability in facing change. Prior to beginning his doctoral journey, Jonathan received his M.A. in Social-Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his B.A. in Psychology from York College, CUNY.

Ghipsel Cibrian (she/her/hers) is a non-profit professional and current master's in Education Policy candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her current interests are school choice models, resource allocation in the education sector, and how data informs decision-making from school-site to the national level. Before Teachers College, Ghipsel worked with rural schools in Peru and most recently with urban school teams across the Bronx, Harlem, and Cleveland, Ohio. Ghipsel earned her B.A. in Government from Georgetown University. 

Eka Jeladze is a Fulbright visiting scholar at ELDA group of Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include data use for the improvement of instructional practices and evidence-based decision-making at schools, as well as change management and development of smart digital learning ecosystems of schools. She earned Ph.D. in Information Society Technologies at Tallinn University, Estonia. Eka works as a program manager at National Assessment and Examination Center of Georgia, in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia, overseeing the design and implementation of nation-wide e-assessment program for Georgian schools. At the same time, she has worked at several universities of Georgia as an invited lecturer and researcher, where she supervises MA students and teaches different courses on digital literacy, change management in technology-enhanced educational organizations, research methods in education. She has extensive experience of working in large-scale international projects focusing on technology-enhanced learning and change management.

Jingjing Jiang is a master's student in Communication and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her B.A. from Zhejiang Normal University, China, where she engaged in educational volunteer projects to enhance learning through curriculum development and tech integration. With a keen interest in measuring teaching effectiveness, she is now pursuing courses in statistics and data science analysis. Her research interests are centered on innovative curriculum design, data-driven analysis of student academic performance, and promoting educational equity.

Lidia Rossi is a visiting doctoral student currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests encompass two main domains. Firstly, the application of statistical methods and Machine Learning algorithms to predict student performance and identify the determinants affecting academic outcomes. Secondly, she is passionate about exploring educational management and leadership through a rigorous quantitative approach, employing statistical models to precisely quantify their impact. Prior to her current role, she earned a Master of Science degree in Mathematical Engineering with a specialization in Statistical Learning at Politecnico di Milano. Additionally, now she is a Ph.D. student in Data Analytics and Decision Science at the same institution.

Javeria Siddiqui is a M.A. student in the Economics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her current research interests include using quantitative analysis and econometric methods to understand the factors hindering early childhood development and education. Prior to joining Teachers College, Javeria worked as a management consultant where she participated in various corporate strategy and public policy projects and gained experience working with large scale multinationals and governments. She earned her B.Sc. in Economics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan.

Maeghan Sill (she/her/hers) is currently pursuing a Master's degree in the Learning Analytics program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests focus on leveraging educational data analysis to inform evidence-based education policy and promote equity and leadership in K-12 schools. Specifically, she is intrigued by the potential of learning analytics to provide innovative insights into student learning and inform data-driven decision-making. She aims to participate in research that influences education policy using data-driven insights. Through her research, Maeghan aims to contribute to developing policies that empower educators and optimize student learning outcomes, ultimately contributing to a more equitable and effective education system. Before enrolling at Teachers College, Columbia University, Maeghan taught for over a decade in various public, private, and charter schools in the United States and China. She has experience developing curricula according to state standards and teaching philosophies, such as Montessori, Waldorf, and English Immersion programs. These experiences have profoundly influenced her educational philosophy, reinforcing the importance of nurturing children's interests and innate curiosity while cultivating independence, work ethic, and focus. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Minjee Son is a visiting doctoral student in the Education Leadership program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her primary focus involves investigating determinants influencing the academic outcomes of learners and contributing to educational system development and data-driven decision-making in education through data analysis and visualization, enhancing equity in education. Her current research interests center on understanding factors impacting teacher engagement and its effects on academic performance in school and individual learners. Previously, she earned her B.A. and M.A. in Education from Chung-Ang University, South Korea, and served as a research assistant on the BrainKorea21Four team, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Sarah Weeks is a Ph.D. student in the Education Leadership program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Sarah’s interests include how teachers, students and school leaders use of student learning assessments and other data sources inform classroom and school improvement efforts.  She is particularly interested in the impact of increasing teacher and school leader capacity in the use of student-centered assessment, personalized learning and mastery-based learning practices on equity. Sarah is a Doctoral Research Fellow on the National Science Foundation funded project Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Evidence-Based Decision Making in Schools and Districts.  Prior to beginning her doctoral work, Sarah spent 17 years working in public and independent schools in New York and New Jersey as a teacher, principal, district leader and consultant. She holds a BA in Architecture from Yale University, a MA in Educational Policy, Organization and Leadership Studies from Stanford University, and a MSEd in Educational Administration and Supervision from Pace University/New Leaders for New Schools.

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Yue (Summer) Wu is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Learning Analytics at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from NYU, with double majors in Education Studies and Applied Psychology. After completing her undergraduate studies, she took a gap year to work as an assistant research scientist at NYU CLAVES Research Team, where she gained experience in managing and analyzing data from public school students. She also served as an operation assistant at BASIS Independent School, acquiring nuanced insights into NYC’s K-2 education system. Her primary research interest lies in exploring the linguistic impacts on people’s perceptions, particularly focusing on how students’ learning processes and outcomes are influenced by their language abilities. With such interests, she aims to use data analytics techniques to enhance individualized learning tailored to students from diverse linguistical backgrounds

Zhen Xu is a master's student in Learning Analytics at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to joining TC, she earned an MA in curriculum and teaching pedagogy from Beijing Normal University and has been working on research on collaborative learning and performance assessment in STEM education. With great enthusiasm for understanding and optimizing learning and the environment in which it occurs through data science, Zhen joined TC in the summer of 2022 and looking forward to transforming this data into new insights that can benefit students, teachers, and administrators. 

Lan Zhang is a master's student in Applied Statistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. During undergraduate period, she has been exploring statistical methods in analyzing K-12 performance and related assessments. With previous experiences in data visualizations and machine learning, Lan obtained enthusiasm to understand and contribute to the combination of education and data analytics. As a statistics student, Lan is looking forward to further development of data scientific tools in promoting educational decisions, seeking for more possibilities in benefiting both students and educators.