Mengli Song, a principal researcher at AIR, specializes in research design, advanced quantitative methods, and evaluations of educational programs and policy. Dr. Song has more than 15 years of experience in educational research and evaluation. She currently serves as the principal investigator of an efficacy follow-up study on the impact ...
Frank Rider is the senior human services financing specialist at AIR. For almost four decades, he has worked in youth and family servicing systems at the state and local levels, including tribal communities. As a skilled technical assistance provider, he is proficient at conducting needs assessments, enhancing capacity with state ...
Sara Wraight Wolforth is a managing director in the Youth Family and Community Development program at AIR. Wolforth leads AIR’s Child and Youth Development Portfolio, which houses work related to the implementation and study of policies, programs, and initiatives that are designed to support whole child and youth development in ...
Jessica Heppen, a nationally recognized expert in education research, policy, and practice, is the president & CEO of AIR. Dr. Heppen been with AIR for 20 years and, in that time, has held several key roles during her tenure.
Mary Kay Dugan is a managing technical assistant consultant at AIR. She is passionate about identifying evidence-based promising practices and translating them into policies and effective programs focused on underserved populations including disadvantaged youth and young adults. Dugan has over 30 years of experience helping federal, state, and local governments ...
Rebecca Zumeta Edmonds is a managing researcher at the AIR in Washington, DC, where she serves as the co-director of the National Center on Intensive Intervention, and as project director for an Investing in Innovation and Improvement (i3) Development Grant. She previously coordinated services for the Response to Intervention Center ...
Kerstin Carlson Le Floch is a managing researcher at AIR, specializing in school improvement, state accountability policies, and Title I implementation. She has conducted studies of Title I policy and accountability systems throughout her two decades at AIR. At present, Dr. Le Floch is the principal investigator on two studies ...
Niu Gao is a principal researcher at AIR specializing in K-12 education policy. Her current work focuses on COVID-19 and education, and she is leading multiple projects to examine the impact of the pandemic on K-12 education and identify effective strategies to help students recover—and recover equitably. Her other areas ...
Orrin T. Murray is a principal researcher at AIR. His primary responsibilities include overseeing the research practice partnership for the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest (REL Midwest). He is the principal investigator on a U.S. Department of Education EIR evaluation of Austin Independent School District’s implementation of culturally responsive and restorative practices, ...
Johannes M. (Hans) Bos is a senior vice president and Institute Fellow at AIR. Dr. Bos is a nationally recognized expert in the conduct of randomized control trials in education and other areas of social policy research. Since 1992 he has conducted numerous evaluations and policy studies in education, child ...