Dillon Alexander Cathro (he/him) is a research assistant with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and French from Saint Olaf College, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. His research interests focus on P-20 recruitment and retention for Black, Latine, Asian, Pacific Isander and Indigenous populations, with particular emphasis on students and families who are recent immigrants or asylum seekers. He is also interested in exploring contemporary approaches to improving and reimagining teacher education programs and curricula.

Danielle J. Allen is a qualitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Leadership, and School Improvement. Her research interests include the role of Black faith communities in advocating for and providing high quality educational opportunities for students and families as well state-level efforts to address equity within education.

Kevin Bastian is a quantitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Public Policy. His research interests include educator preparation, labor markets, and on-the-job learning; estimating teacher and principal effectiveness; the distribution of educational resources; and using data to inform the improvement of educator preparation programs.

Cintia Bortot is a qualitative researcher with a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Ottawa. Her research interests include highly effective educator preparation, equitable access to high quality education, and efforts to support low performing schools.

Elizabeth D’Amico serves as the Director of Research Operations and Finance for EPIC. Elizabeth regularly participates in the development of research budgets, performs technical reviews of reports and grants, and is an active participant in project planning with both internal and external research team members.

Sarah Crittenden Fuller is a quantitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Public Policy. Her research interests include health impacts on education, natural disasters, high school interventions, post-secondary transitions, the distribution of highly effective teachers, and achievement gaps in education.

Simona Goldin is a qualitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Educational Studies and a master’s degree in management and urban policy analysis. Her research and scholarship consider efforts to transform the preparation of beginning teachers to teach in more racially just and equitable ways. Her most recent work has looked carefully at the ways that innovations are weaponized against the very communities they are meant to support.

Steve Hemelt is a quantitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research interests intertwine the economics of education, education policy, labor economics, and program evaluation. His current work focuses on transitions to life after high school, skill demand, college costs, and student success in higher education, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds.

Jillian La Serna is a Research Assistant Professor and qualitative researcher at the Educational Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) in the Department of Public Policy. Before entering higher education, La Serna served as a public-school principal, assistant principal, dual language-reading specialist, and elementary teacher. La Serna’s research interests focus on race, culture, social justice, and critical consciousness in K-12 schools with a focus on dual language programs.

Douglas Lauen is a quantitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Sociology. His research interests include the effects of educational policies, school types, and school contextual factors on student outcomes.

Julie Marks is a mixed methods researcher with a Ph.D. in Public Health. Her research interests include evaluation of federal and state-level programs and policies, efforts to support low-performing schools, and equitable access to high quality educational opportunities.

Rosie Miesner is a mixed methods researcher with a PhD in Educational Policy. Her research interests include the impacts of school contexts on teachers and students, special education policy, and early childhood education.

Camille Mikkelsen (she/her) is a quantitative researcher with a Master’s degree each in Public Policy and Special Education. Her research interests, influenced by her time in the classroom, include gender and racial equity, equitable and just access to special education services, school culture and staff culture, and the impacts of emergency COVID-19 funding on students, schools, and districts, and its influence on equity throughout the system.

Andrew Otte is a Data Systems Analyst at the Educational Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) in the Department of Public Policy. He has a Master’s degree in Mathematical Sciences with a focus on Statistics from Clemson University. Andrew acts as a database administrator for EPIC, managing incoming data, preparing datasets for quantitative analysis and participating in project planning with research team members.

Kairen L. Petry currently serves as a qualitative research assistant, primarily utilizing qualitative research methods. They assist on multiple projects including the evaluations of North Carolina Principal Fellows Project, GEAR UP North Carolina, and Strategic Staffing for paid teacher residencies.

Rachel Rana is a mixed methods researcher with a Master’s degree in Public Health. Her research interests include education and health equity, juvenile justice, and the school-to-prison pipeline.

Jenny Sawada is a qualitative researcher with a Ph.D. in Educational Studies from the University of Michigan. Her work focuses on exploring the use of oral history and narrative. More broadly, she is interested in youth engagement in education and the role of storytelling and academic research in shaping perspectives.

Tom Swiderski is a Research Associate with a PhD in Public Policy. His research primarily examines the impact of education systems, policies, and programs on student transitions to college and career.