Karen Braxton has more than 15 years of experience providing public health-related technical assistance (TA) and managing complex TA and logistical support contracts. She has a proven track record of directing high-profile projects and providing strategic planning, TA/training, research, facilitation, and logistical solutions to the federal government, particularly the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has developed particular expertise in projects related to HIV/AIDS, health disparities, and capacity development. Ms. Braxton has worked with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the American Public Health Association, and others in support of federally funded projects. She is Corporate Monitor on four of SEI's SAMHSA contracts. Ms. Braxton is a graduate of Spelman College with a B.S. in Biology. Also, she holds an M.A. in Health Promotion from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Michelle D. Gaugh has more than 7 years' experience in the design and implementation of both National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded and industry-sponsored clinical trials. She is highly skilled in the construction, compilation, and submission of NIH grants, including preparation of background research, study design, budget construction, selection of measures, and both paper and electronic submission processes. Ms. Gaugh has extensive training in clinical psychology, with a strong proficiency in neurocognitive and projective test administration, scoring, interpretation, and reporting. Also, she has experience working with cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally impaired children and adults, and subsequent design of experimental therapeutic interventions, both pharmaceutical and behavioral in nature. She has unique experience on an HIV research team, with strong skills in communication and relationship building and maintenance with research faculty, pharmaceutical companies, sponsors, biostatisticians, and student volunteers. She is proficient in all aspects of research development and execution, from creation of grants, research protocols, informed consent, and measures to conducting study visits, maintaining records, and publishing results. Ms. Gaugh earned an M.A. in Psychology from The State University of New York College at Brockport in New York, and a B.A. in Psychology from Nazareth College of Rochester in New York.

Dr. Brenda Jones Harden is a psychologist in the early childhood policy, practice, and research arenas. For more than 30 years, she has focused on the developmental and mental health needs of young children at environmental risk, with a specific emphasis on preventing maladaptive outcomes through early childhood intervention programs. Dr. Jones Harden advises SEI on the incorporation of evidence on early childhood education into ongoing projects. She leads a review of the current academic literature on early childhood program quality and afterschool programs and describes the implications of study findings for practice and policy. Dr. Jones Harden also co-leads a Technical Work Group, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), and recruits individuals with substantive expertise in both early childhood education and research to serve as expert advisors to the project. In addition, she works with the project director and principal investigator to analyze data and prepare two written reports on finding and implementing best practices. Dr. Jones Harden received a Ph.D. in Developmental/Clinical Psychology from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and an M.S.W. in Family and Child Welfare from New York University's School of Social Work in New York.

Dr. Katia Delrahim Howlett has more than a decade of diverse clinical and academic research experience in mental health and risky health behaviors. She has expertise in the fields of psychiatric disorders, public health and safety, health policy, health communication, and substance abuse and addiction. At SEI, Dr. Delrahim Howlett serves as Project Director of the NIDA/SAMHSA Blending Initiative. Before coming to SEI, Dr. Delrahim Howlett served as Deputy Director of the Underage Drinking Prevention Education Initiatives contract with SAMHSA. Dr. Delrahim Howlett became interested in substance abuse prevention and co-morbid mental health issues early in her education when she interned at NIDA during her undergraduate studies at the University of California, San Diego. That interest grew as she took part in research projects in drug treatment, psychiatry, and drug trafficking. As Research Associate at the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry, she contributed to the design of new research protocols and lead served as lead clinical coordinator for industry sponsored clinical trials. Previously, she served as research assistant for several different psychiatric clinical trials and structured interviews based on DSM-IV criteria for psychiatric disorders. In this capacity, Dr. Delrahim Howlett carried out laboratory procedures, including phlebotomy, processing of lab samples, and the monitoring of EKGs and vitals. Dr. Delrahim Howlett received her Master's in Public Policy from Pepperdine University, her Master of Business Administration from the Johns Hopkins University, and her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, where she focused on prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and other consequences of alcohol misuse. She is widely published in the field of mental health, on topics as varied as schizophrenia, antidepressant treatment, panic disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, the burden of phobias on the health-related quality of life, and minor depression.

Meena R. Karithanom has been a professional healthcare researcher for more than 12 years. Over that time, she has become highly experienced in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiological data, and she possesses thorough knowledge and expertise in clinical trials project/data management. Ms. Karithanom currently works as an epidemiologist in support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Ms. Karithanom's areas of expertise comprise research and analysis emanating from numerous information sources; management of study projects involving information gathering, analysis, and presentation of conclusions and recommendations; and technical writing and editing, including design, development, and production of reports and documents with target audiences ranging from the lay public to high-level government officials. Her work has supported various federal entities over the years, including Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; and within NIDA and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Ms. Karithanom has an M.P.H. in Epidemiology/Biostatistics from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in Health Science and Policy from University of Maryland in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Dr. Robert Katt has been a professional technical writer since 1979. During that time he has designed, developed, and written government reports, scientific and technical papers and monographs, manuals, training aids, brochures, and other products. His areas of expertise include technical writing and editing, including design, development, and production of reports and documents with target audiences ranging from the lay public to technical specialists; research and analysis from information sources including technical literature, subject matter specialists, and data systems; and management of study projects involving information gathering, analysis, and presentation of conclusions and recommendations in written and oral formats. Specifically, for NIDA, Dr. Katt prepared summaries of meetings of three research portfolio review workgroups, the NIDA Medications Development Program review workgroup, an internal review of the Science Director, and a meeting for research training directors. Dr. Katt has also prepared 68 summaries of meetings and conference calls in support of the Patient Safety Research Coordinating Center of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Additionally, Dr. Katt has prepared more than 36 board meeting summaries for the National Research Council Board on Army Science and Technology and the Air Force Science and Technology Board. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

Dr. Robin Pugh Yi has 25 years of experience conducting research focusing on high-risk youth, delinquency, and crime and safety issues. Her experience includes identifying, updating, and developing survey and other data collection instruments as well as collecting and analyzing data and reporting results. She has extracted data and constructed analytic databases from national surveys such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse's Alcohol Epidemiologic Data System. Dr. Pugh Yi serves as Associate Project Director for SEI's NIDA/SAMHSA Blending Initiative project. Her work has included development of weighting algorithms, data imputation, and developing and implementing data quality check procedures. Dr. Pugh Yi has extensive experience with multiple regression modeling and other multivariate statistical methods and is familiar with disclosure risk approaches. She has produced dozens of analytic and methodological reports, data codebooks, and users' manuals, and has trained data collectors for efforts such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Drug Abuse Warning Network. Dr. Pugh Yi has presented on topics such as challenges and benefits of online data collection tools at professional conferences. Her peer review publications include an article comparing confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory approaches to assessing measurement invariance.

Sabrina Roundtree is a service-focused public health professional and program manager with more than 5 years of experience in the fields of public and allied health. She exhibits a strong commitment to serving the needs of individuals through academic and professional enhancement and development. Ms. Roundtree has provided program management on federal contracts for HHS, ED, and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). These include projects for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Prevention Fellowship Program, as well as SAMHSA's Center of Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Support Treatment Strategies to Address Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Program. Currently, Ms. Roundtree serves as Director of the CSAP Prevention Fellowship Program. In this role, she develops, executes, and manages the programmatic, technical, and training tasks involved in the Prevention Fellowship Program, Graduate Student Internship, and Summer Internship. Ms. Roundtree has received numerous accolades from SAMHSA for her performance on—including stellar management of—the Prevention Fellowship Program. Ms. Roundtree holds an M.P.H. from Morgan State University as well as a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Union University.

Patrick Zickler has nearly three decades of experience in research, writing, and communications management in the fields of biomedical science, public health policy and research, and environmental science and technology. He is an award-winning writer and has worked with federal, corporate, and nonprofit clients to develop and manage a wide range of communications projects. Mr. Zickler has extensive experience working with senior federal staff at NIH and HHS institutes and agencies to develop and plan communication projects and to coordinate and manage projects that effectively blend editorial accuracy in presenting technical, analytical, and scientific information with the important creative contributions of writers and designers to meet client goals. Mr. Zickler's science writing has received the NIH Plain Language Award. For more than 20 years, he has developed special expertise in the areas of drug addiction and abuse, including the behavioral, genetic, and neurobiological aspects of initiation, addiction, and treatment; tobacco-related issues; HIV/AIDS; and health care disparities. He received a B.A. in journalism from The George Washington University, in Washington, DC.

Dr. Carole Bausell is a Senior Writer/Editor at SEI with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of communication and education. Dr. Bausell applies a broad background of experience and knowledge to facilitating communication and developing programs in the education arena, with specialized experience in literacy, languages, and English Language Learning. Currently, she provides editorial support to SEI's Magnet Schools Assistance Program Technical Assistance Center contract. Additionally, she serves as a facilitator and lead writer on SEI's contract with ED's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for the Operation and Support of Regional Advisory Committees (RAC). Prior to joining SEI, Dr. Bausell served as the Director of Communications at the Strategic Education Research Partnership Institute (SERP) in Washington, DC. At SERP, she edited a quarterly newsletter and press releases; conceived and wrote annual reports and other documents; and edited important content before public release. Dr. Bausell was also the lead manager for a literacy grant (with partners from Harvard University and the University of Michigan). As the Assistant Director of the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center at Education Week in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Bausell provided oversight to staff in the day-to-day operations of a fast-paced research center that conducted national surveys in education policy and produced special reports. She also edited a weekly online feature for edweek.org and frequently communicated with officials in state and local departments of education. Dr. Bausell earned an Ed.D. in Human Communication and Its Disorders from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rhonda Crenshaw is a Senior Program Associate at SEI, and has more than 13 years of experience in social science research, evaluation, and education research focused on K–12 and Title I. Ms. Crenshaw has comprehensive experience in designing, developing, and providing TA on performance measurement and evaluation efforts for ED and other agencies. In addition to performance measurement, she has designed and carried out program evaluations for federal clients, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Department of Justice, and nonfederal clients. Specifically, Ms. Crenshaw served as Project Director for the ED Institutional Development & Undergraduate Education Service Performance Measurement project for Title III and V grantees, which was funded under the Higher Education Act. She also served as Deputy Project Manager for the National Science Foundation evaluation of its Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships program. Ms. Crenshaw has developed several professional guides, training manuals, and other publications designed to support learning and performance. For instance, for HHS, she wrote several chapters of the State Handbook for Early Childhood Administrators. Additionally, she has prepared several chapters of a Charitable Choice Manual for state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families administrators that sought information on exemplary collaboratives and best practices in exercising Charitable Choice. She holds a current security clearance from DHS and earned an M.A. in Educational Psychology from Howard University, where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate.

Dr. Jeanne Embich is a Senior Research Associate at SEI with more than 30 years of experience in the field of education, including several school-based leadership roles, teaching in a variety of K–12 public school settings, and, at the university level, directing teacher preparation programs in partnership with large urban and suburban school districts. Dr. Embich teaches graduate-level teacher preparation courses with a focus on behavior management and instructional strategies for secondary students with special needs. As a researcher, she has collaborated with colleagues to investigate teachers' and counselors' perception of adoptive families, and she has conducted research related to teacher burnout and teacher effectiveness. In support of SEI's education-based contracts, Dr. Embich primary responsibility is to monitor four Teacher Incentive Fund grants. In this role, she focuses on program compliance, ensures that the grantee is on track to move to full implementation, documents grantee goals and objectives and progress toward meeting them, and assists the grantee in developing measurable goals and objectives. Dr. Embich has also served as Program Director of the Teachers 2000 Partnership, a collaborative project of The George Washington University, the Peace Corps Fellows/USA, and Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. She earned an Ed.D. and an M.A. in Special Education from The George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Abe George serves as Project Director for the National Center for Education Statistics, Education Statistics Support Institute Network's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) funded by ED. In this capacity, he is responsible for conducting the analysis for the CAFR data and preparing the research and development report. Mr. George has 22 years of progressive experience in performing statistical analysis and reporting, data management, survey research, and providing technical leadership for analytical projects in the fields of education, population demographics, human resources, EEO and diversity, finance, marketing, accounting, and telecommunication. He has authored and coauthored technical papers and research reports, developed recommendations based on the research results, and presented the research findings in professional meetings and conferences. Additionally, Mr. George developed SAS, SPSS, STATA, and R programs to analyze survey data and corporate data to generate regulatory reports, policy evaluations, trend, forecasting, correlations, central tendencies, regressions, statistical indicators, and tabulations and benchmark. He has designed surveys, developed survey instruments and methodology, developed sampling, managed data collection, performed data validation, editing, imputation, and quality control as well as developed survey research reports. Mr. George is the founder and president of a nonprofit organization, Young Speakers Club, which trains students to improve their communication skills. Mr. George has an M.B.A. degree in Marketing from the University of the District of Columbia.

Dr. Sherri Lauver serves as Project Director for the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Professional Development Module project funded by ED. She provides leadership and expertise in the development of an interactive, Web-based infrastructure for 21^st CCLC grantees and state coordinators. She has more than 14 years' experience conducting scientifically based, rigorous research studies in afterschool programs, as well as valuable insider knowledge as a former afterschool program practitioner. Dr. Lauver was an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy and Evaluation at the Warner School of Education and Human Development and Director of Program Evaluation for the Warner Center for Professional Development and Education Reform at the University of Rochester. She collaborated with the Harvard Family Research Project on an extensive study of student participation in 64 afterschool programs and is coauthor of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of academically based afterschool program evaluations for the Campbell Collaboration. Dr. Lauver holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Practice from the University of Pennsylvania.

Deborah Lessne is a Senior Research Associate at SEI with more than 12 years of experience in providing research and analysis for education-related projects. Currently, her responsibilities include working with evaluators, Web designers and local education agencies to structure a database, Web-based collection form, and report format for the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity's (DoDEA) Educational Partnership Grant program. For a DHS project examining health care delivery to detainees, Ms. Lessne worked with health care professionals to design a survey instrument and took the leadership role in organizing, validating, and analyzing the data collected from 30 detention sites around the country. Before joining SEI in 2009, she served as a Senior Research Consultant on the Connecticut Department of Higher Education's project to Define Best Practices for Responsible Accountability Models in Higher Education. As a research analyst for the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges of Connecticut, Ms. Lessne's work included annual enrollment and graduation reporting to address system, state and federal requirements (including validation and aggregation of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data from multiple institutions); trends analysis; and survey development. She also has worked as a project coordinator for a longitudinal study of learning disabilities at the Yale University School of Medicine, and served as a trainer/tutor in an elementary school special needs program. In addition, she was certified as a Quality Assurance Trainer and as a Quality Improvement Facilitator by the state of Connecticut. Ms. Lessne has an M.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Kathleen Tindle is a Senior Research Associate and has more than 20 years in the field of education. At SEI, she monitors projects, conducts site visits, and supports ED program officers and TA providers for ED's Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) to six local education agencies receiving Race to the Top and/or TIF funds. Dr. Tindle managed DoDEA's 2011 grant review process, devised the scoring criteria, designed and delivered Webinar training for reviewers on scoring criteria, and arranged technological logistics. For this task, she facilitated six panels of reviewers, helping them reconcile scoring differences, and finalizing scores. For SEI's ED Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIEP) study, she conducts literature reviews and site visits to develop case studies. For a variety of projects, she provides expertise in qualitative and quantitative education research designs and helps design protocols, instruments and other materials for research, evaluation, and performance measurement projects. She also provides TA and professional development to education administrators and practitioners through workshops, focus groups, and Web and conference presentations and is an adjunct professor for The George Washington University on instructional methods, teacher leadership, and behavior management. Her experience includes teaching middle school students life science, and, at the university level, managing 5-year, $5 million federal Teacher Quality Enhancement Program personnel preparation grants that prepare teachers for high-needs schools. She received her doctorate from The George Washington University in Curriculum and Instruction.

Roy Walker has more than 25 years of experience in program management, including 14 years directing federal projects that provided training, technical assistance, health education, and dissemination of information. He oversees all client-facing activity for SEI's Division of Evaluation and Technical Assistance and provides direct management for contracts funded by ED's OESE directly. He developed training curricula focusing on specific audiences including parents, teachers, and students. He facilitated focus groups for all of these audiences. He recently conducted a series of focus groups of African-American college students for the National Science Foundation as part of a study to assess their interest and motivation in pursuing information technology careers. Mr. Walker taught science in grades 6 through 12 for 6 years in the Gary, Indiana, public school system. He received an M.B.A. from Loyola University, Illinois, a B.A. in Chemistry/Biology from Grinnell College, and teacher certification from Purdue University's Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Manya Walton manages and supports all aspects of ED's Magnet Schools Assistance Program. She has extensive experience in P–20 education research, evaluation, program monitoring, accountability, and technical assistance. She is skilled in designing and implementing research and evaluation studies that include prevailing social science theories and methodologies. She develops and conducts quasi-experimental studies as well as formative and summative program evaluations. Dr. Walton is educated in K–12 education monitoring, accountability, and reporting requirements for adequate yearly progress; Title I; Reading First; early childhood education; and special education. She has published more than 25 articles on educational program evaluation as well as trend and data analysis. Dr. Walton holds a Ph.D. in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kathy Zantal-Wiener has amassed more than 30 years of expertise in the educational arena, specializing in teacher preparation, quality, and supporting partnership programs between state and local education agencies, colleges and universities, and community-based programs. She has more than 25 years of managerial experience, has taught both undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation courses at the University of Maryland, and has evaluated several teacher education programs as part of federal evaluation contracts. Also, she has been a consultant, test developer, and policy specialist concerning children with disabilities for various educational councils and organizations. As a Senior Program Associate at SEI, Dr. Zantal-Wiener has demonstrated experience managing large-scale TA and evaluation contracts for clients such as the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, OESE, the Institute of Education Sciences, National Science Foundation, and DoDEA. She has written newsletters, case studies, and issue briefs for other ED TA Centers and projects focused on teacher quality, school climate, evaluation, student achievement, English as a second language, and students with disabilities. Recently, the Maryland State Department of Education asked her to serve as a member on the Restructuring Initiative Technical Assistance Project for low-performing schools. She was also recently appointed to serve a 3-year term on the TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.) Standards Committee. Dr. Zantal-Wiener received her doctorate in Educational Policy and Administration/Special Education from the University of Maryland.