#  Staff 

 



The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks team is based at the [Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University](https://cepr.harvard.edu/). Our staff come from a variety of different backgrounds, including former district administrators, data experts, and education researchers.



 

##  Leadership 

 



  [### Chris Avery

 ](/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... 

 

 

      ![Chris Avery](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/chris_avery.jpeg?itok=Kgo_WTuB) 

 

 

 

   [### Thomas J. Kane

 ](/people/thomas-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... 

 

 

      ![Tom Kane](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/tom_kane_2022_revised_pic_1.jpg?itok=Kjl2wytc) 

 

 

 

   [### Doug Staiger

 ](/people/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... 

 

 

      ![Doug Staiger](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/doug_stauger.jpeg?itok=jc4emsa8) 

 

 

 

   [### Elise Swanson

 ](/people/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... 

 

 

      ![Elise Swanson](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/eswanson-headshot_1.jpg?itok=KlqkFqkF) 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

##  Staff 

 



  [### Kristen Cummings

 ](/people/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... 

 

 

      ![Kristen Cummings](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/kristen-cummings-profile-600x760.jpg?itok=ydfuEkdK) 

 

 

 

   [### Soojin Lee

 ](/people/soojin-lee)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... 

 

 

      ![Soojin Lee](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/soojin.jpg?itok=iiS8eN9m) 

 

 

 

   [### Lisa Sanbonmatsu

 ](/people/lisa-sanbonmatsu)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... 

 

 

      ![Lisa Sanbonmatsu](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/lisa.jpeg?itok=Z5sG3atL) 

 

 

 

   [### Elise Swanson

 ](/people/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... 

 

 

      ![Elise Swanson](/sites/g/files/omnuum3601/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ncrern/files/eswanson-headshot_1.jpg?itok=KlqkFqkF) 

 

 

 

  

 

 [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/people)