Dr. Courtney Brown
Dr. Courtney Brown. Senior Research Associate at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP), serves as the primary direct contact for providing evaluation technical assistance to TAH grantees.  During the past two years, Dr. Brown has provided direct personal guidance and evaluation assistance to numerous TAH grantees with experimental and quasi-experimental design evaluations.  In addition, she has conducted multiple teleconferences for TAH grantees, presented conference sessions at TAH project director and evaluator meetings, reviewed TAH grant evaluations, and developed extensive resources related to TAH evaluation.  This new contract allows Dr. Brown to expand the scope of her work to include all TAH grantees, serving as the centralized contact point for evaluation technical assistance and resources.  However, as needed, she will also utilize the diverse knowledge and skills of other CEEP personnel in providing evaluation technical assistance.   

In her various roles at CEEP, Dr. Brown develops, designs, manages and implements a diverse portfolio of evaluations and research projects. Her current and recent experience at CEEP includes serving as the project lead on a randomized controlled trial study of the impact of full day kindergarten on academic outcomes; the project director of a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of Amgen Foundation’s graduate fellowship program in the sciences; the project director of an evaluation of a statewide leadership training program; and evaluation services and technical assistance for 9 Area Studies Centers funded under Title VI.  Prior to coming to CEEP, Dr. Brown spent seven years teaching advanced evaluation and experimental research methods and assessment courses at both Purdue University and Rockford College; and she has been the lead evaluator on projects with the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education, among others.

Contact information for Courtney Brown:  coubrown@indiana.edu, 812-855-4438

Dr. Patricia Muller
Dr. Patricia Muller, Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP), is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the evaluation resources and technical assistance services provided to TAH grantees.  She has been integrally involved in providing technical assistance to the 2003 and 2004 TAH grantees under the previous contract, including presenting conference sessions at TAH project director and evaluator meetings, assisting with TAH teleconferences, reviewing TAH grant evaluation sections, and providing substantive guidance to TAH grantees.

In her various roles at CEEP, Dr. Muller has served as the project director and co-PI for numerous evaluations using experimental and quasi-experimental design, including the experimental design study of 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, the experimental design study of full-day kindergarten, the quasi-experimental longitudinal evaluation of the Cleveland voucher program, and an experimental design study of literacy intervention in urban New York City schools. Dr. Muller has expertise related to hierarchical linear modeling (including publication in the American Educational Research Journal), and using large national data sets. She has also published and presented on the applications of experimental design evaluation to education programs (e.g., Muller, 2002; Muller, Hightower-King & Moss, 2004).  In addition to this strong background in quantitative methodology, she also has extensive experience related to qualitative methodology, including previous teaching experience for doctoral level courses at Indiana University.

Contact information for Patricia Muller:  pmuller@indiana.edu, 812-855-4438

Sean Grobe
Mr. Sean Grobe, Director of Information Services at Synergy Enterprises, Inc., is responsible for the day-to-day operation of this website.  He also provides logistical support related to this project, including overseeing registration for teleconferences and meeting sessions; arranging for conference calls, meeting rooms, and AV support for these sessions; and maintaining and updating grantee contact lists. 

Mr. Grobe has over nine years of experience in the development of databases and websites for a variety of Federal clients, including the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His support includes website design and management, database development and maintenance, as well as e-publication support. He is also experienced with all types of logistical coordination for the management of a variety of events, including international conferences, peer reviews, workshops, and symposia.

Mr. Grobe has designed and developed web-based databases for tracking grant information, grantee information, and Annual Performance Report (APR) data. For SEI, Mr. Grobe has created and maintains databases for all meetings, peer reviews and conferences. Specifically for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, he has designed the robust Publications Inventory Control System Database which electronically tracks the distribution and delivery of NIDA-related publications and documents.

Contact information for Sean Grobe: SGrobe@sei2003.com , 240-485-1700