My Experience

Evaluation Analyst II

Extern Program Evaluator

• Consulted to design and conduct a mixed-methods research project in under 3 months
• Performed statistical analyses unpacking discrepancies in program effectiveness amongst clients, resulting in strategic service administration and providing evidence of superiority over competitors

Capacity Catalyst offers a competitive externship matching advanced students and early career professionals with non profits and social entrepreneurs who have a need for research evaluation & data analysis. Externs design and carry out a targeted program evaluation over the course of a semester, to improve program services and assess their impact, whilst receiving mentorship and participating in networking opportunities.

At Meals on Wheels Central Texas, I was presented with a program dilemma which I translated into a research question and designed a program evaluation that was feasible to carry out in less than three months time. The results of this program evaluation shed light on the nuances of Meals on Wheels clients and how these different client types experience services. In turn, findings provided Meals on Wheels with actionable insights to support program outcomes and evidenced proof of program successes.

• Managed, cleaned and compiled longitudinal quantitative data
• Performed statistical analyses to model trajectories, pinpoint co-varying variables and link predictor and outcome variables, resulting in a new, insightful understanding of student performance used to address program challenges and improve program outcomes

Advisor: Alison Bentley, PhD, Director of Data Evaluation

Success by Six Team

•  Managed, cleaned and compiled longitudinal data on over 1,400 people from several data sets in Excel and R
• Analyzed scores over time from 1,400 people to model trajectories, pinpoint co-varying variables and link predictor and outcome variables
• Created & strategically disseminated marketing materials for Bright By Text & Baby Box Initiatives
• Researched current tax policies for credits and incentives benefitting families and children, either directly or indirectly via employer incentives, for partnerships with local Austin businesses
• Summarized data/research on many topics including: 1. homelessness in children ages 0-6 years old, 2. standardization and quality control of at-home child care, and 3. rates of children living in poverty and low-income families in all 11 council districts of Travis County for dissemination to local policy makers

Family Connects Project

• Attended stakeholder meetings during the development and implementation of Family Connects
• Created a database of hundreds of local resources for new parents related to the 4 domains of: 1. Support for Health Care (Maternal Health, Infant Health, Health Care Plans), 2. Support for Caring for the Infant (Child Care Plans, Parent and Child Relationship, Management of Infant Crying), 3. Support for a Safe Home (Household Safety/Material Supports, Family and Community Safety, History with Parenting Difficulties), and 4. Support for Parents (Maternal Wellbeing, Substance Abuse, Maternal Emotional Support)

Graduate Research Assistant

• Developed several lines of primary longitudinal research and served as co-principal investigator on an interventionary research study, designing research methodology, managing data and analyzing complex statistical models
• Presented original research at national & international research conferences and published in a peer-reviewed empirical journal and in a book chapter
• Managed research lab processes and multidisciplinary research partnerships

Advisor: Deborah Jacobvitz, PhD, Director of The School of Human Ecology

Aug. 2014 – May 2019
The Austin Longitudinal Project

• Managed, cleaned and compiled datasets from 125 families (375 people) in SPSS and MPlus
• Developed, analyzed and presented data from 4 studies at national & international conferences
• Trained and mentored several undergraduate research assistants

Jan. 2018 – May 2019
MAGIC Study (Mothers & Grandmothers Impacting Children): an intervention study of sensitive feeding practices surrounding the intergenerational transmission of obesity via grandmothers, mothers and infants

• Co-authored IRB proposal (helped to choose measures and intervention materials)
• Collaborated on a team with research scientists from multiple fields
• Managed & trained undergraduate research assistants
• Future tasks: recruitment of participants from diverse backgrounds, conduction of home visits (e.g., video observation, anthropometrics, questionnaires), cleaning of raw data for statistical computations, statistical analysis using SPSS and MPLUS (descriptive statistics, evaluation of intervention vs control group, structural equation modeling), translate statistical results into meaningful information to be shared with fellow researchers, therapists, clinicians, policy makers, etc.

Graduate Student

Department of Human Development & Family Science
Doctoral Program
Advisor: Deborah Jacobvitz, PhD
Completion date of doctoral degree: May 2019

Dissertation: The Maternal Birth Experience & Infant Attachment: A Mixed Methods Study

Master’s Thesis: Parents’ Joint Attachment & Caregiving: The Moderating Role of Marital Quality

Course Work:
HDF 380K ANALYZING DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE
HDF 380K ADVANCED REGRESSION & STRUCTURAL MODELS
HDF 380K RESEARCH METHODS CHILD DEV/FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
HDF 395 CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY DEV
HDF 394 DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONSHIPS: INFANCY-ADOLESCENCE
PSY 394V EVOLUTION OF CHILDHOOD
HDF 394 ATTACHMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
HDF 395 FORMATION & DEV OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
HDF 395 ADULT DEVELOPMENT & AGING
EDP 382F MINDFULNESS/COMPASSION/SELF

Teacher Assistant

• Attended each lecture
• Communicated directly with undergraduate students to answer their questions, provide feedback and aid in their understanding of course material
• Kept consistent & effective communication with the professor/lecturer to maintain course organization
• Collaborated with the professor to create scoring rubrics
• Graded material for each course (quizzes, exams, papers, etc.) in a timely manner
• Maintained the course webpages through the Canvas Network

Worked as a teacher’s assistant for the following undergraduate courses:
1. HDF 466, Guidance in Adult-Child Relationships Spring 2018 (10 hrs/wk)
2. HDF 351, Infant Development & Attachment Fall 2017 (20 hrs/wk)
3. HDF 347, Socioeconomic Problems of Families Spring 2017 (20 hrs/wk)
4. HDF 360, Methods of Family Life Education Fall 2016 (20 hrs/wk)
5. HDF 362, Children & Public Policy Spring 2016 (20 hrs/wk)
6. HDF 338, Developmentally Appropriate Practices with Young Children Fall 2015 (10 hrs/wk)
7. HDF 652F, Practicum Field Experience Spring 2015 (20 hrs/wk)
8. HDF 313 & 113L, Child Development & Laboratory Fall 2014 (20 hrs/wk)

Validity & Reliability

Internal consistency

Factor analysis

Questionnaire construction, Observational & Psychophysiological measures

ANOVA, regression, mediation, moderation, effect size

Correlation and causation

Spurious relations

Experimental design, Quasi-experiments

Developmental designs

Multi-level designs

Person-centered approaches

Meta-analysis

Reporting results

Designing studies of change

Modeling individual growth

The multi-level model for change

Using time-varying covariates

Discontinuous and nonlinear change; mediation

Latent growth modeling

Discrete-time hazards models

Describing and analyzing continuous time-event occurrence

Dynamic systems

Regression & Path analysis

Latent variables

Developing structural SEM models

Model specification, identification, evaluation, troubleshooting, model trimming

Testing mediation and indirect effects

Missing data approaches

Latent growth curve models

Alternative approaches to longitudinal modeling

Mixture modeling