About NCSER

Bio

Joan McLaughlin joined the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as Deputy Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) in 2009. In addition to her role as Deputy Commissioner, McLaughlin served as NCSER's program officer for the Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education grant program. In 2013, she was appointed Commissioner of NCSER. Prior to joining IES, she spent 16 years working in the Education and Family Services area of Abt Associates Inc., a research-consulting firm. While there, McLaughlin served as principal investigator or project director for numerous evaluations of federal education, food assistance, and early childhood programs. She also served as a program officer in the Office of Analysis and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, where she oversaw design, process, and implementation studies of programs and initiatives focused on maternal and child health and child nutrition issues. In addition, McLaughlin served as a program analyst in the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division of the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and her Master's and Doctoral degrees in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University.

Bio

Jackie joined IES in 2006 and is the Program Officer for the Social Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning and the Families of Children with Disabilities research topics. Her prior research focused on prevention and early intervention services for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, and mental health services in schools. Jackie received her Ph.D. in Educational (School) Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prior to graduate school, she was a middle school special education teacher.

Bio

Rob joined IES in 2008 as a Program Officer at the National Center for Special Education Research. His prior research focused on understanding effective curricula and assessment in middle school science classrooms. Rob is a former high school science teacher and received his Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at George Washington University.

Bio

Kim Sprague joined IES in 2012. Prior to joining NCSER, she served in the IES Standards and Review Office (SRO). Kim has conducted several studies, many using rigorous methods, including experimental designs, in the areas of early childhood education, early literacy development, professional development, and adolescent literacy. Prior to joining IES, Kim had been a researcher at Brown University, EDC, and Abt Associates, and she has degrees from Harvard, Cornell, and SUNY in Human Development, Psychology, and Education Policy with a focus on research methodology.

Bio

Amy has managed several portfolios for NCSER, currently serving as the Program Officer for Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education. Before joining IES in 2010, she was the Program Director for the Developmental and Learning Sciences program at the National Science Foundation, an adjunct faculty member and researcher at Georgetown University studying early care and education, Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research, and American Psychological Association Congressional Fellow. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Yale University.

Bio

Katie joined NCSER in 2015 and is the Program Officer for the Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers, Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education, and Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems topics. Her prior research focused on school-based prevention programs that target youth violence and promote positive development as well as predictors and consequences of adolescent aggression and victimization. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University

Bio

Wendy joined IES in 2015 and is the Program Assistant for the National Center of Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research. She recently graduated from Cornell University with a major in Human Development and a minor in Policy Analysis and Management. While at Cornell, she conducted research focusing on early child cognition and examined the effects of spatial language and play on children’s spatial skills.