People

Chris Avery

Co-Principal Investigator

Christopher Avery is the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy and Management at the Harvard Kennedy School. He teaches analytic courses in microeconomics and statistics. He studies rating and selection mechanisms, focusing on the college admissions...

Serenity Coats

Network Facilitator

Serenity Coats serves as a Network Facilitator for the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) at the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR). Serenity is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and an Accredited Financial...

Kristen Cummings

Postdoctoral Fellow

Kristen Cummings is a Postdoctoral Fellow for the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks at the Center for Education Policy Research. Kristen recently completed her doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, where she...

Byron Ernest

Network Facilitator

Byron Ernest, Ed.D. has made significant impact globally in the field of education and received the Education Excellence Award in Dubai as part of the 2024 Impact Leadership Awards. He was the 2010 Indiana “Teacher of the Year” and 2011 Christopher...

Sarah Hammond

Network Facilitator

Sarah Dyson is a District Facilitator with the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks at the Center for Education Policy Research. With a Ph.D. in Education Policy from North Carolina State University, Sarah has dedicated her career to...

Thomas J. Kane

Principal Investigator

Thomas Kane is an economist, Walter H. Gale Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, member of the Yidan Prize Foundation Council of Luminaries, and faculty director of CEPR. Between 2009 and 2012, he directed the Measures of...

Soojin Lee

soojin_lee@gse.harvard.edu

Research Program Associate

Soojin serves as the Research Program Associate for the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) at the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR). Before joining CEPR, she held the position of researcher at the Korean Educational...

Lisa Sanbonmatsu

lisa_sanbonmatsu@gse.harvard.edu

Director of Research

Lisa Sanbonmatsu is Director of Research at CEPR overseeing multiple projects. Prior to joining CEPR, Lisa was a senior researcher on the Moving to Opportunity project at the National Bureau of Economic Research, where she evaluated large randomized...

Doug Staiger

Co-Principal Investigator

Dr. Douglas Staiger is the John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College. Before joining Dartmouth in 1998, he was a faculty member at Stanford and Harvard. Dr. Staiger is a member of the National Academy of...

Elise Swanson

Director, Research Initiatives for College and Career Success (RICCS)

Elise Swanson is the director of the Research Initiatives for College and Career Success (RICCS) portfolio at the Center for Education Policy Research, where she leads the analytic work for multiple projects. Prior to joining CEPR, Elise was a Senior...

Mariko Yoshisato Cavey

Network Facilitator

Mariko Yoshisato Cavey is a Network Facilitator with the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) at the Center for Education Policy Research. Mariko brings a breadth of experience cultivating university-school-community partnerships...