Jizhi Zhang is an educational psychologist, and a principal research scientist at AIR. Dr. Zhang is currently working on a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) research study on achievement gaps and previously she led a content research study to compare the 2011 Grade 8 NAEP and the Trends in ...
Graciela Castillo is a senior researcher at AIR, involved in the collection, evaluation, and analysis of data. Areas of expertise include cost and coverage and consumer engagement.
Castillo is experienced in conducting literature reviews and environmental scans, message and material testing as well as survey development and testing. She has moderated ...
Marian Thacher is a senior researcher at AIR. She currently works with the California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), the statewide professional development system for adult education in California. She manages the development of communities of practice, online professional development courses, and webinars for adult educators. She is also ...
Christal Ramos is a managing director in the health division. She has over 16 years of experience implementing and studying policies and interventions to improve health equity, particularly for people with Medicaid or who are uninsured, and for communities of color. She is experienced in leading mixed-methods research, evaluation and ...
Cecilia Xuning Zhang is an interdisciplinary researcher with years of mixed-methods research experience and a wide breadth of content knowledge in the areas of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Technology-Based Learning Supports. She has rich technical expertise in collecting and analyzing extant data to inform enrollment trends and population estimates, leading user ...
Katie Rich is a senior researcher at AIR. She leads and supports a variety of projects related to mathematics and computer science education. She is currently serving as a coaching and technical assistance lead for the Engagement and Achievement through Computational Thinking (ENACT) partnership within the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest, ...
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.
Averi Chakrabarti is an economist in the International Development Division at AIR. Dr. Chakrabarti specializes in using quantitative research methods to investigate issues related to social protection, health, nutrition, gender, and child well-being. She has published peer-reviewed journal articles and evaluation reports on topics such as the impacts of cash ...
Julie Jacobson Vann has more than 40 years of experience in health services that spans the delivery of public health and patient care services, health services and Medicaid managed care administration, research and evaluation, and academic teaching. More than 20 of those years have involved planning, managing and directing health ...
Rachel Shapiro is a senior researcher at AIR. Shapiro has experience conducting qualitative and mixed-methods research focusing on a range of health care delivery and payment reforms that aim to achieve better quality of care, improve population health, and lower costs of care. Her experience covers a range of policy ...