NCER
Staff
Corinne Alfeld
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Corinne joined NCER in 2014. She is the Program Officer for the Improving Education Systems and Career and Technical Education research topics. She also serves as the Program Officer for the National Center for Research on Gifted Education, the Career and Technical Education Research Network, two National R&D centers examining Knowledge Use in Education, and the Postdoctoral Training Program. Prior to IES, Corinne's research focused on educational supports for adolescent and young adult transitions to college and careers, with a particular focus on career and technical education. She received her B.A. in psychology from Vassar College, her M.A. in developmental psychology from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. in education and psychology from the University of Michigan.
James Benson
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
James joined IES in 2012 and as a Program Officer, he focuses on supporting researchers who develop and test interventions aimed at increasing rates of college completion and closing attainment gaps between historically disadvantaged students and their peers. He manages the College Completion Network and two Research and Development Centers, the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness and the Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology, with a focus on the Sociology of Education, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Vinita Chhabra
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Vinita joined IES in 2011 and oversees the Literacy research portfolio and coordinates NCER web content and helps guide NCER's dissemination activities, including preparing summaries and announcements on NCER research activities, and responding to public inquiries. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia.
Christina Chhin
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Christina joined IES in 2006 and is the Program Officer for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Research topic. She is also the Program Officer for the Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication competition. Her prior research focused on the role of self-efficacy beliefs in academic achievement, with a special interest in gender differences in mathematics and science achievement. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University.
Wai-Ying Chow
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Wai joined IES in 2012 and is the Program Officer for the Effective Instruction research topic. Her prior research and clinical work focused on the risk and protective factors of child mental health, with an emphasis on adolescents from ethnic minority- and low socioeconomic status-communities. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical and Community Psychology from Arizona State University.
Emily Doolittle
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Emily joined IES in 2008. She is NCER's Team Lead for Social Behavioral Research and oversees the Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning portfolio and the National Center for Rural School Mental Health. Her prior research focused on cognitive development and parent-child relationships during infancy and early childhood. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago.
Caroline Ebanks
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Caroline joined IES in 2002 and is the Team Lead for early childhood research. Caroline is the Program Officer for the Early Learning Programs and Policies research topic and the Early Learning Research Network. During her time at IES, Caroline has served as the Program Officer for the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research program and the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education. She also works on federal research and policy initiatives addressing the early learning and development of young children. Her prior research focused on social and academic predictors of children's early school adjustment. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Cornell University.
Lara Faust
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Lara joined IES in 2021 and is the program officer for the Cognition and Student Learning research portfolio. Her prior work focused on understanding the development of student achievement motivation, and examining how parents’ beliefs and behaviors shape their children’s academic attitudes, performance, and participation. Prior to joining IES, Lara worked at the Council of Independent Colleges, managing grant activities and their visiting fellows program. She received her M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology from the University of Maryland.
Phill Gagné
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Phill joined IES in 2011 as the Program Officer for the Statistical and Methodological Research in Education grants program. He has conducted research on methodological issues pertaining to structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, and item response theory. He received his Ph.D. in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Maryland–College Park.
Erin Higgins
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Erin leads NCER’s programs focused on cognition and student learning, digital learning platforms and transformative research. Before joining IES in 2013, Erin worked briefly in human factors and UX research, with a focus on advanced technologies in aviation. She received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she focused on how people learn and remember complex information.
Helyn Kim
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Helyn joined IES in 2020 and is the program officer for the English Learners research portfolio, as well as two National R&D Centers focused on improving opportunities and achievement for English learners in secondary school settings. Her prior work focused on understanding mechanisms that link developmental skills to achievement and classroom behaviors, implementing and evaluating education programs and interventions, and working with policymakers to improve their education systems. Prior to joining IES, Helyn was a fellow at the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia.
Meredith Larson
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Meredith joined IES in 2010 and is one of the Program Officers for the Postsecondary and Adult Education topic area and for the Postdoctoral Research Training Program in the Education Sciences program. Her prior research focused on implicit language learning and nonliteral language processing. She holds masters' degrees in English and in cognitive and instructional psychology from Northern Illinois University and received her Ph.D. in psycholinguistics from Northwestern University.
Bennett Lunn
Truman-Albright Fellow,
NCER
Bio
Bennett joined IES in 2020 as a Truman-Albright Fellow working across the National Center for Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Legal Philosophy in Education Policy.
Michael Leonard
Management & Program Analyst,
NCER
Bio
Michael joined IES in 2021 and is the program analyst for the ED/IES Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Michael works with SBIR project data and manages the dissemination of information from SBIR projects and completed products. His prior research focused on the impact of policy on improving opportunities for postsecondary educational advancement, increasing educational outcomes, and addressing workforce needs, with an emphasis on community colleges and underserved communities. He received his B.S. in Business Administration (Finance) from The Ohio State University, his M.S.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. in Educational Policy from The Ohio State University.
Edward Metz
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Ed leads the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program at IES. In this role, Ed manages competitions and a portfolio of education technology projects, and specializes in working with industry leaders in developing technology products, research to test implementation in schools, and on business models for the private sector's commercialization of emerging forms of technology. In recent years, millions of students and educators have used products out of the ED/IES SBIR program. In his role since 2013, Ed has led the ED Games Expo, an annual event to showcase education technology learning games and technologies developed with the support of IES and more than 30 programs across government. Ed earned his Ph.D. in Human Development in 2003 from Catholic University, where he performed and published research on the impact of community service programs on high school students' civic engagement. Ed is a former AAAS/SRCD Executive Branch Fellow (2003–2004), a former Jesuit Volunteer Corps NW member (Yakima, WA, 1995–1996), and a graduate of Georgetown University (B.A., 1995).
Katina Stapleton
Program Officer,
NCER
Bio
Katina has been an NCER Program Officer since 2005 and currently oversees grants in the areas of education leadership, highly mobile students, and research training. In addition, Katina advises IES on how to convey research in language that can be easily understood by practitioners and policymakers. She currently serves as a plain language trainer and co-chair of the federal Plain Language and Action Network (PLAIN). In addition, Katina is a U.S. Department of Education Diversity Change Agent and serves as co-chair of the IES Diversity and Inclusion Council. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, where she specialized in political communication and the politics of school reform.