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, ...
Barbara Broman is director of cross-cutting strategic initiatives in AIR’s Health and Social Development program. Her responsibilities include identifying and accessing opportunities with federal agencies, states, and foundations; collaborating with other AIR program areas and outside organizations; guiding teams working in and across systems on the conceptualization of ideas and ...
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 ...
Cheryl Harris is a senior technical assistance consultant at AIR. Her current work involves providing technical assistance for the Texas (TXCC) and Southeast (SECC) Comprehensive Centers, addressing state and local capacity building in school improvement and key content areas. This work includes assisting states and their statewide systems of support ...
Uttara Balakrishnan is a senior research economist at AIR with over ten years of experience designing, implementing, and reviewing complex and challenging mixed methods impact and performance evaluations and formative research in developing countries using quantitative and qualitative methods. She specializes in quantitative methods and has extensive expertise in econometric ...
Bobbi Newman is a principal researcher and director of AIR’s practice area for standards and assessments. She has more than 15 years of experience in research and evaluation of school reform efforts. Dr. Newman has worked at every level of the education system, from the classroom to the state. As ...
Xinsheng “Cindy” Cai is a principal researcher at AIR. As a knowledge translation (KT) expert, Dr. Cai is invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide consultation to help develop a global research agenda on KT and evidence-informed policymaking. Dr. Cai serves as the co-chair and editor of the Knowledge ...
Veronica Tate is a managing director at AIR and serves as a senior leader on the management team that shapes the technical assistance delivery and supports effective collaboration across the comprehensive centers operated by AIR. She provides leadership, project management, and quality assurance supervision to ensure the effectiveness of services, ...
Debra Rodriguez is a senior technical assistance consultant at AIR, and serves as the project manager for the Texas Comprehensive Center. In this role, she works closely with the director and deputy director to ensure the Center’s technical assistance is aligned with national, state, and local initiatives and projects have ...