Melissa Arellanes, researcher at AIR, has over 10 years of experience conducting rigorous quantitative and qualitative data analyses. Arellanes currently serves as a quantitative analyst on an evaluation of an intervention, Teach for America’s Rural Schools Leadership Academy, designed to improve the effectiveness of school principals or other school leaders. She was a member of …
Tammie Causey-Konaté, Ph.D., is a senior technical assistance consultant at the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the equity-in-education senior advisor at the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. Causey-Konaté has over 25 years of experience as a professional educator, with her years in K–12 and higher education divided equally. She has international and regional …
Matt Clifford is the director of leadership research at WestEd, overseeing a portfolio of research, policy, and professional development projects focused on educational leadership workforce development. Clifford leads client-focused research studies examining how leaders create schools that prioritize student equity and achievement. The studies use rigorous methods to answer questions about what works in school leadership, and …
Carolyn Kelley is the Jim and Georgia Thompson Distinguished Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Kelley’s research focuses on strategic human resources management in schools, including teacher compensation, principal and teacher evaluation, and leadership development. She is co-author of three books, including Mapping Leadership: …
Eric Larsen is a Principal Economic Researcher at American Institutes for Research, specializing in program and policy evaluation, quasi-experimental research designs, and teacher and leader effectiveness. He is currently the co-principal investigator for three evaluations of interventions designed to improve the effectiveness of principals and other school leaders. He is also the project director for the …
Kari Morris (they/them) is a multi-hyphenate artist, educator, researcher, and serves as Project Manager for CALL-MEI and the Education Leadership Data Analytics Research Group (ELDA) at Teachers College. For the past decade, they’ve successfully mentored teams and facilitated initiatives that enable student equity and empower student expression. Most recently, they were an instrumental part of the Bridges project, …
Anjalé D. Welton’s scholarship examines how educational leaders both dialogue about and address race and racism in their school communities. Her research, specific to racial equity and justice, also considers the role of student and community voice, leadership, and activism in education reform and transformation. Some of her professional experiences include serving as the coordinator …
Dr. Benjamin West is a quantitative researcher at AIR. West has more than 10 years of experience as a researcher and educator. He has led teams in evaluating the effectiveness of national and regional policies, including teacher performance pay in Colorado, Florida, and Texas; multi-tiered systems of support in Massachusetts; and prekindergarten programs in New York …