Research Portfolio

Selected projects demonstrating the use of data to inform education policy, workforce alignment, and system-level decision-making.

Featured Project

Aligning Academic Pathways to Workforce Demand

The Problem

Are students’ academic experiences aligned with the fastest-growing and highest-demand careers in today’s economy?

Approach

This exploratory analysis examined the relationship between secondary course-taking patterns and labor market demand by:

  • Classifying courses into pathways (STEM, Computer Science, Health, Business, Humanities)

  • Applying a threshold-based definition of participation (≥2 aligned courses) to distinguish exposure from sustained engagement

  • Integrating labor market data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to contextualize workforce demand

Key Findings

  • Computer science pathways are significantly underrepresented, with fewer than 1% of students demonstrating sustained participation despite high workforce demand

  • STEM participation is broad but not specialized, suggesting that general exposure does not necessarily translate into high-demand technical skills

  • Pathway participation decreases substantially under stricter criteria, highlighting the difference between single-course exposure and meaningful engagement

Why It Matters

This analysis highlights the importance of aligning educational experiences with workforce demand to better support college and career readiness. It also underscores the need to move beyond exposure-based metrics toward measures that reflect depth of learning and skill development, particularly in high-growth fields.

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

Selected Research & Evaluation Projects

  • Developed and validated machine learning and regression-based models to predict student performance across grades 3–10.
    → Improved early identification of at-risk students and supported data-informed instructional decision-making.

  • Led a quasi-experimental evaluation using hierarchical regression to assess the impact of tutoring services on student outcomes.
    → Informed district-level funding decisions and program refinement.

  • Designed and maintain a Power BI dashboard tracking 600+ metrics across 200+ schools.
    → Accelerated decision-making for district leaders through real-time performance monitoring.

  • Developed a clustering methodology to group schools based on performance profiles.
    → Enabled more targeted interventions and contributed to improved outcomes in identified schools.

  • Teach graduate-level courses in statistics and research methods, supporting students in designing and executing applied research projects.
    → Strengthened practitioner capacity to use data for decision-making and school improvement.

Research Focus

My work focuses on leveraging education, workforce, and economic data to inform decision-making, improve system alignment, and expand access to high-quality opportunities for students and communities.

I am particularly interested in the intersection of:

  • Education and workforce systems

  • Data-informed policy and practice

  • College and career readiness

  • Economic mobility and equitable outcomes