People Type: Graduate Researchers

Lawrenzo Howell is a native Chicagoan and former Bay Area resident. He earned his B.A. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame and his M.A. in Education from Stanford University. Before pursuing graduate study, Lawrenzo taught high school Humanities and Black Studies for five years. In this role, he helped students analyze history using Ethnic …

Yanxing Huang (she/her) is a master’s student in Learning Analytics at Teachers College, Columbia University, with a strong interest in using data-driven insights to enhance learning experiences and support educational decision-making. Her research focuses on analyzing student engagement and performance, exploring patterns in learning behaviors, and applying quantitative methods to uncover meaningful trends in education. With …

Jingjing Jiang is a master’s student in Communication and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her B.A. from Zhejiang Normal University, China, where she engaged in educational volunteer projects to enhance learning through curriculum development and technology integration. With a keen interest in measuring teaching effectiveness, she is now pursuing courses in statistics and …

Hana Kim is a predoctoral sociology fellow at Harvard University. A mixed methods researcher, she is interested in school choice, particularly in understanding how districts can promote equitable choice processes. She holds a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard, where her undergraduate thesis examined the role of guidance counselors in the New York City high school choice system.

Kelly Lawler (M.Ed., she/her/hers) is a principal at Crestwood Elementary School in the Madison Metropolitan School District and a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is an equity-centered instructional leader committed to ensuring that all scholars — particularly those historically underserved — are seen, valued, and supported in …

Mary-Louise (Molly) Leger is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her current research interests center on the educational infrastructures for improving urban schools and districts. This includes the collaborative arrangements, educational leadership, and organizational assets that support and sustain school improvement.   Prior to UCLA, Mary-Louise served as a policy fellow, a non-profit director, …

Jordan Mosby is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Brown University, where he studies the New Great Migration and the lived experiences of the Black middle class. Jordan’s M.A. thesis compares the impact of concerted cultivation on Black and white students’ test scores. Jordan’s policy research interests concern race, inequality, education and workforce …

Emily (Em) Nott (M.Ed., she/they) is a youth-focused educator, learner, artist, and researcher. She is passionate about the transformative potential of public arts, out-of-school-time (OST) education, and creating structural change to support OST educators’ well-being and flourishing. She is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is …

Kecen Pu (she/her/hers) is a second-year M.A. student in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her experience volunteering as a teacher in rural middle schools in China sparked her interest in promoting educational equity. With a strong passion for improving education policies, Kecen is excited to explore how data analysis can help build more inclusive …