Christopher Cody

Christopher (Chris) Cody provides strategic leadership across a diverse body of work spanning assessment, workforce development, and human capital systems. He oversees a portfolio of projects, staff, and clients while advancing integration across research, technical assistance, and data infrastructure efforts.

Dr. Cody brings more than a decade of experience leading large-scale federal initiatives, with deep expertise in longitudinal data systems, survey design, administrative data, and education and workforce policy. He has managed complex studies for clients including the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), serving as project director for AIR’s work on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Longitudinal Studies projects.

He currently serves as project director for PlaceWise, a place-based analytics and learning AIR initiative designed to strengthen how communities use data to inform decision-making and improve outcomes. 

Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Cody was director of research and public policy at the Public School Forum of North Carolina, where he led research on key education issues including school finance, charter school policy, and expanded learning opportunities. He was also a fellow in the Education Policy Fellowship Program sponsored by the Institute for Educational Leadership and co-coordinated the North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program.