For 15 years, Marshall has worked as a researcher and evaluator within and outside of public-school systems. He uses experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the effects of educational programs on student, teacher, and school performance. Much of his work harnesses large, statewide longitudinal data systems to investigate the impact of educational policy. His recent work has investigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and families. His work has been recognized by the American Educational Research Association. Marshall is ABD in Political Science from Texas Tech University. Prior to arriving at CESR, he was a senior research scientist at Gibson Consulting Group, in Austin, Texas. Access his CV here.

Amie joins CESR after more than 10 years as Director of Research at Gibson Consulting Group. Her work over the last 15 years has focused on helping school districts, state education agencies, foundations and other organizations answer pressing education research and policy questions. Amie’s research projects have spanned various content areas, including project-based learning, STEM education, civics education, and educator professional development. She leads teams of researchers on the design, implementation, and execution of experimental and non-experimental studies, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental design studies, descriptive studies and case studies. She strongly believes in the inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative research methods in education studies to produce a more complete understanding of a program's implementation and impact. Much of Amie’s recent work involves district-wide, statewide, or probability-based surveys to measure climate, attitudes, and/or opinions (e.g., in the community, among parents, among school district employees). Amie earned her PhD in Social and Personality Psychology from New York University. Access her CV here.

Dr. Anna Rosefsky Saavedra, a Research Scientist and USC Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) Co-Director, is an applied education researcher with specialization in the areas of teaching and learning, and civics education, as well as leading large, complex studies. Dr. Saavedra co-leads the education module of the Understanding America Study (UAS), a nationally representative panel study of parents’ perceptions and reports on their children’s educational experiences during COVID-19. Between 2015-21, Dr. Saavedra was Principal Investigator (PI) of a five-district, mixed-methods, randomized controlled trial efficacy study of the implementation and impact of a project-based learning approach to teaching AP U.S. Government and AP Environmental Science.  Based study results, in summer 2021 the College Board started offering PBL professional learning for AP teachers. Prior to her research career, Dr. Saavedra managed educational programs and partnerships for an educational travel company and taught high school world history. Her education master’s and doctorate are from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Access her CV here.

Daniel Silver recently completed his PhD in Urban Education Policy at USC’s Rossier School of Education, where he used quantitative and mixed methods to study curriculum and standards policy. He has contributed to national survey research about the educational experiences of teachers, school leaders, and U.S. families during the COVID-19 pandemic and has analyzed teachers’ curriculum use using econometric and machine learning methods. As a postdoctoral researcher at CARE, he looks forward to continuing to conduct policy-relevant research designed to improve students’ educational experiences. Access his CV here.

Jessica is CARE’s administrator. She has extensive experience managing complex research, evaluation, and survey projects and grants for a variety of federal and international sponsors. She serves as a point of contact for researchers to ensure assignments remain in synergy, communicating to keep projects aligned with their goals. Jessica performs quality control by adjusting schedules and targets as project needs and/or financing change. Before joining USC, she worked at the University of California, Los Angeles as a financial analyst in several departments. In that capacity, she was responsible for analyzing data, and preparing reports and projections based on results. Jessica earned her BA in Criminal Justice.