People at HSRI
Janet Anderson
Senior Trainer
Ms. Anderson is the Team Lead/Senior Trainer for the newly created Training Team. Her primary responsibility is to develop training and materials for SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Project Officers and grantees. Prior to coming to HSRI, Ms. Anderson worked in the sexual assault prevention field for over 15 years providing training and technical assistance to advocates working directly with sexual assault survivors. She also worked as the Training Officer for the Gill Foundation as an instructional designer and spent six years as a trainer and technical assistance provider for the State of Colorado on a juvenile violence & substance abuse prevention program. Ms. Anderson has two Master of Arts degree, one in Counseling Psychology and the other in Organizational Management.
Karen Auerbach
Senior Research Associate
Dr. Auerbach is a statistician and senior research associate on the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center project for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. She has previously conducted research in the areas of substance use, developmental disabilities, adolescent and young adult development, and education. She has an M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Statistics from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College, and a B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Oberlin College.
Eric Bailey
Designer
Mr. Bailey’s primary responsibility is ensuring that all of the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center’s (DACCC) outgoing material is styled and coded in a way that is not only visually pleasing and easy to interpret, but also accessible for users with visual impairments. He comes from a mixed interactive and print design background, graduating with a B.F.A in Fine Arts from Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts.
Kristin Battis
Research Analyst
Ms. Battis is a research analyst on the Data Analysis Team of the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Prior to joining HSRI as a research assistant, Kristin worked as a clinical research assistant, a mental health residential counselor, and also performed HIV, STI, and safer sex outreach. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Northeastern University, as well as minors in Psychology and Women's Studies.
Julie Bershadsky
Senior Research Analyst
Dr. Bershadsky is the primary statistician and data analyst on several projects at HSRI. She works on the National Core Indicators (NCI) project, an effort to develop indicators and benchmarks of performance across 30 states developmental disabilities service systems. She also works on Sage Resources, an effort to use assessment to develop the best match of waiver dollars to the support needs of participants. She holds a BA in Statistics and a PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Minnesota.
Erin Bliss
Research Assistant
Ms. Bliss is as a research assistant for the Data Analysis Team for the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center project for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Prior to joining HSRI, Erin worked in the fields of women’s health and nonprofit development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bates College, as well as a minor in Economics.
Teresita Camacho-Gonsalves
Senior Research Specialist
Dr. Camacho-Gonsalves is Senior Research Specialist at HSRI. Dr. Camacho-Gonsalves is currently involved in the evaluations of the: 1) SAMHSA funded Co-occurring State Incentive Grants (COSIG); 2) SAMHSA funded HIV/AIDS Related Mental Health Services in Minority Communities project in the Cambridge Health Alliance; 3) Hogg Foundation for Mental Health Seclusion and Restraint Reduction Project; and the 4) SAMHSA funded Minority Fellowship Program. Past projects included involvement in the SAMHSA funded Best Practices Dissemination Project and the evaluation of the SAMHSA funded Consumer and Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Centers and the SAMHSA funded eight-site project on alternative interventions for the reduction and elimination of the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health facilities. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire.
Leanne Candura
Project Manager
Ms. Candura is the Project Manager of the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC), a five year contract by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Prior to her work on the DACCC, Ms. Candura worked at HSRI as a Research Analyst for CSAP’s Data Consolidation and Coordination Center (DCCC). Before joining HSRI, she worked as a Research Associate at OMNI Research and Training in Denver, CO. At OMNI, she honed her research and management skills working on a variety of prevention research and evaluation projects funded through SAMHSA and the Colorado Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. She holds a Master's in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a B.A. in Sociology from Stonehill College in Easton, MA.
Clifton Chow
Research Associate
Mr. Chow is a Project Manager and Analyst at Human Services Research Institute who has been with the institute for over 10 years. Mr. Chow currently serves as the manager and analyst of the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant Evaluation project funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). He is also one of the analysts of the SAMHSA mental health Block Grant Cost-Efficiency simulation modeling project and the Cambridge Health Alliance HIV-AIDS mental health evaluation project. Mr. Chow also coordinates on-site training and data collection and implemented analysis using HSRIs computer simulation resource allocation modeling for doing needs assessment of adult mental health and substance abuse systems. Since joining HSRI, he has also managed the Evaluation Center’s Evidence-based Practices and Toolkits and Materials Program, also funded formerly by SAMHSA to deliver evaluation technical assistance to adult public mental health service agencies, served as project manager and analyst for gap analysis projects in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New Mexico and Colorado, and managed SAMHSA’s Managed Care for Vulnerable Populations Project. Additionally, he has worked on the Employment Intervention and Demonstration Program. His primary areas of interest are quantitative synthesis and econometric analysis for evaluation using techniques such as meta-analysis, cost-effectiveness/cost-benefit analysis and duration model techniques (survival analysis). He is currently completing his dissertation on assessing policies to improve employment outcomes for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
Ben Cichocki
Policy Analyst
Mr. Cichocki is currently working on the MHT SIG cross-site evaluation and other projects. He has over 11 years experience in the field of mental health, including 7 years as a service provider. Prior to joining HSRI, Ben worked on an ACT program, at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, and at Maine Medical Center, where he was involved with their PIER (EDIPPP) program. He has been a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) since 2003, and is also a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP). Ben has a M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling with a specialty in Psychiatric Rehabilitation from Boston University, and is currently pursuing his doctorate (Sc.D.) in Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University, specializing in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
Unda Ioana Crisan
Research Analyst
Ms. Crisan is currently a Research Analyst for the Data Analysis Team, within the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Previously, she was involved as a Research Assistant with the evaluation of the SAMHSA-funded Minority Fellowship Program and the Study of Children's Use of Psychiatric Crisis Services in Connecticut. She holds a M.A. degree in Community Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and a B.A. degree in Psychology from West University of Timisoara, Romania.
Bevin Croft
Research Assistant
Ms. Croft assists with several projects related to mental health systems and program evaluation, including the Milwaukee County Mental Health System Redesign and the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant Evaluation. Prior to her work at HSRI, Ms. Croft was the Quality Management Coordinator at Cascap, Inc., a psychiatric rehabilitation provider in Cambridge, MA. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Social Policy at the Heller School at Brandeis as a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Fellow.
Jaime Daignault
Policy Associate
Ms. Daignault's primary responsibilities involve project management and technical assistance to community organizations. She has contributed to several studies of disability service systems including state-level gap analyses and systems reform projects to improve self-determination and quality assurance. Working at the community level, she has provided training and technical assistance to community organizations regarding strategic planning, peer support, and capacity building. Currently, she directs systems change projects in Arkansas, Illinois, North Carolina, and Florida. She also contributes to other projects including the evaluation of Ohio's Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, conducting qualitative analysis of mental health and alcohol and drug services.
Anna Edwards
Financial Manager
Ms. Edwards has been with HSRI since 1997, she manages all financial components of the organization. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Suffolk University.
Joshua Engler
Policy Associate
Mr. Engler is the Project Coordinator for the National Core Indicators (NCI), an effort that began in 1997 to develop indicators and benchmarks of performance across state developmental disabilities service systems. He is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who, prior to HSRI, worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for 8 years in the public and private sectors. He holds a Master's degree in Evidence-Based Social Work from Oxford University, as well as a Master's degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Texas at Austin.
Kimberly Firth
Policy Analyst
Ms. Firth is a member of the Child and Family Services Team working primarily on the evaluations of Ohio’s Title IV-E Waiver project and the Ohio Enhanced Kinship Navigator project. Ms. Firth has a background in social work with a focus on adoption. She is active with OPEN, the Oregon chapter of the American Evaluation Association. She has a Master's in Public Administration with a focus on Social Work and Social Welfare Policy from Portland State University.
Jon Fortune
Senior Research Specialist
Dr. Fortune is primarily responsible for managing and working on projects related to assessment informed resource allocation. Dr. Fortune also works to provide technical assistance to state leadership regarding system redesign and Medicaid services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 1990, Dr. Fortune joined the Wyoming Department of Health Developmental Disabilities Division where he held senior management positions. He was instrumental in designing and implementing Wyoming’s system of community services for persons with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injury, including developing Medicaid HCBS waivers for both populations. Dr. Fortune also was the chief architect of the precedent- setting Wyoming DOORS model through which people with disabilities are assigned individual budgets based on their assessed needs and other factors. He has published extensively and made numerous presentations at national conferences concerning individual budgeting and community services.
Rachael Gerber
Research Analyst
Ms. Gerber works on the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center (DACCC) project for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. She is also involved in the Center’s national cross-site evaluation of HIV/SA prevention programs. Previously, Ms. Gerber worked in community health and HIV prevention as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. She holds a Master’s in public health from Yale and a BA in history from Boston University.
Stephanie Giordano
Research Assistant
Ms. Giordano is a Project Coordinator with the National Core Indicators (NCI), an effort that began in 1997 to develop indicators and benchmarks of performance across state developmental disabilities service systems. She holds a Master's Degree from Suffolk University.
Teresa Gomez
Community Development Coordinator
Ms. Gómez is a Community Development Coordinator for HSRI's social service initiative, Juntos Podemos/ Together We Can Family Center in Salem, Oregon. She has a younger sister with Down Syndrome. In helping her family, she realized that there is a great need within the broader community for specialists, professionals and advocates that speak Spanish, understand the culture and know how to address special education issues. Ms. Gómez is a graduate of Western Oregon University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in Special Education.
Katie Howard
Research Analyst
Ms. Howard is currently a Research Analyst for the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) at SAMHSA. Her work focuses primarily on a national cross site analysis of CSAP grant funded programs that target HIV, hepatitis, and substance abuse prevention in minority communities. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and holds a MPH from the University of Maryland and a BA degree in Sociology with Honors from the University of Oregon.
Nilufer Isvan
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Isvan is a senior research fellow at HSRI, currently spending most of her time as the Data Analysis Team Lead for the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center project for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. She has previously conducted research and published in the areas of economic sociology, gender, work, and the family. She has a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an M.S. in computer science and systems analysis from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey, and a B.S. in statistics and computer science from the University of London, U.K.
Sebrina Johniken
Office Manager - HSRI East
Ms. Johniken handles office administration duties for HSRI and is the Publications Manager. Her background is in childcare and she has attended the Katharine Gibbs certificate program for Legal Administration.
Madeleine Kimmich
Senior Research Fellow
Dr. Kimmich is a senior research fellow in HSRI's Oregon office, where she also co-directs the office. She leads HSRI’s Child & Family Services Team, with oversight responsibility for multiple projects in child welfare and children’s services. She currently directs a multi-year evaluation of Ohio's Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, and guides multi-site research on the impact of Differential Response to reports of child abuse and neglect. She has previously done research and published in the areas of quality assurance, performance measurement, systems reform, and program effectiveness related to low-income populations of children and families, adolescents, the elderly, and people with developmental disabilities. She holds a Master's and a Doctorate in social welfare policy from the University of California-Berkeley.
Allie Kurlanski
Administrative Assistant
Ms. Kurlanski provides administrative support to the Camp Street Office. She is a member of the HR Team and assists the Office Manager with various projects. Ms. Kurlanski received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Northeastern University.
Lavonia LeBeau
Senior Research Associate
Dr. LeBeau is a Research Associate at HSRI who spends her time working on the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at SAMHSA. Prior to joining the HSRI team, Lavonia was a post doctoral fellow at Harvard University conducting research in Social Psychophysiology. She has a doctoral degree in Social Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University, a MA in Experimental Psychology from Towson University and a BS in Psychology from Northeastern University.
Amoya Mankertz
Administrative Assistant - HSRI West
Ms. Mankertz provides administrative support for the Tualatin, Oregon Office. She handles a variety administrative needs from office procurement to assisting staff with their project needs. Amoya has 15+ year of administrative experience.
Katie McInerney
Research Assistant
Ms. McInerney is a research assistant on the Data Analysis Team of the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Prior to joining HSRI, Katie worked as a research assistant at the Northeastern University Center for Criminal Justice Policy Research studying youth risk behaviors and human trafficking. She holds a Bachelor's degree summa cum laude in Sociology from Northeastern University.
Kerri Melda
Policy Associate
Ms. Melda has been employed with HSRI since 1992, and her primary responsibilities include project leadership, policy and statistical analyses, program evaluation, and provision of training and technical assistance. Specifically, her work focuses on projects related to family support policy and practice, person-centered funding, performance gap analyses, and studies assessing the impact of change on service recipients. Ms. Melda currently serves as Director of HSRI's Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) Family Center, connecting Latino families who have children with disabilities to community services and supports. She oversees the family support related activities of the National Core Indicators project, which analyzes family support satisfaction data across 30 states. She recently completed a study of the impact of service reductions on Florida's service population, and has worked on reimbursement projects in Colorado, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Ms. Melda holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Administration (University of Oregon) and a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education (Indiana University).
Nelly Moura Oliver
Senior Research Associate
Dr. Oliver is a senior research associate on the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center project for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and spends most of her time on the HIV Cross-Site Evaluation. She has a doctoral degree in sociology from the Northeastern University, an M.A. in applied sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a B.A. in Social Psychology also from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Julie Murphy
Project Manager
Ms. Murphy is the Project Manager for several multi-site child welfare evaluations in Ohio, including the IV-E Waiver, Kinship Navigator and Differential Response evaluations. She has been involved in coordinating numerous projects exploring issues in the field of child and family services and developmental disabilities, including alcohol and drug services, youth transition programs, family resource centers, early intervention programs, and performance and outcome measurement. She holds a Master's of Social Work from the University of Michigan, with a specialization in Administration and Evaluation.
Jennifer Negus
Policy Assistant
Ms. Negus is a Policy Assistant that works with HSRI's Developmental Disabilities team in Oregon. She supports multiple self-advocacy projects and works directly with self-advocates on a variety of day-to-day tasks including off-site coordination in multiple states, event planning, production of user-friendly materials for self-advocates, tracks project budgets and coordinates both the production of The Riot! e-newsletter and it’s National Conversation Series. She has worked for HSRI since 2002.
Kate Nevins
Assistant Project Manager
Ms. Nevins is an Assistant Project Manager who spends most of her time assisting in project management for the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for SAMHSAs Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Kate is currently enrolled in a Master's of Public Administration at Northeastern University. She holds her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Northeastern University.
Linda Newton-Curtis
Research Associate
Ms. Newton-Curtis is a Research Associate at HSRI. She is currently involved in the evaluation of the Title IV-E Waiver Project in Ohio as well as an evaluation of Differential Response in Child Protective Services in six Ohio counties. Linda has been involved for several years in child welfare research and evaluation and has experience in both qualitative and quantitative methodology. She holds a Master’s degree in psychology from Portland State University.
Steven Noyes
Software Architect
Mr. Noyes manages the design, development, deployment and ongoing maintenance of web and database applications for numerous federal- and state-level projects including SAMHSA’s evaluation of the Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant, National Core Indicators, the Minority Fellowship Program, and the Block Grant Cost-Efficiency Simulation Model. He is also responsible for data analysis and data processing tasks used in various statistical modeling and systems planning projects. Mr. Noyes joined HSRI in 2003 and worked previously as a senior programmer/analyst for the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership. He holds a Master's Degree in computer science from Boston University.
Laysha Ostrow
Policy Analyst
Ms. Ostrow is a mental health consumer in recovery and a family member of person with mental illness, which informs her involvement in research and evaluation and approaches to technical assistance. She was Project Coordinator at HSRI on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded research study that looked at consumer perceptions of mental health treatment, quality of treatment care processes, and cultural competency for diverse racial/ethnic groups. Ms. Ostrow is writing educational guides for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations’ Office of Consumer Affairs on person-centered planning in mental health treatment, and provides technical assistance to mental health consumer advocacy groups on peer-run services. Ms. Ostrow assists on mental health system redesign projects using HSRI’s system planning simulation model. She has a B.S. in Psychology from Lesley University and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
Elizabeth Pell
Policy Analyst
Ms. Pell has worked in the advocacy field on behalf of persons with mental and physical disabilities for over twenty years. At HSRI, she has coordinated evaluation projects such as the National Evaluation of the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Program and worked on numerous quality improvement projects involving individuals and families with developmental disabilities. Prior to HSRI, Ms. Pell worked as a Legal Advocate for persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities with the federal Protection and Advocacy systems in Alabama and Massachusetts, as Director of an Elder Abuse and Protection department in Massachusetts, and as Director of Social Services with a hospice agency in Oregon.
Deborah Peterson
Research Analyst
Ms. Peterson is a Research Analyst on the Data Analysis Consolidation and Coordination Center (DACCC) for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). She started work as research assistant for New Haven City Plan after which she moved on to a twenty year career in developing and monitoring community mental health and substance abuse treatment services while earning an MBA in Health Care Administration from Boston University. Subsequently, she earned an M.Ed and taught Middle School for many year . Before coming to HSRI, she was an analyst on an NIH funded study to determine the effectiveness of a high school based social norms campaign.
Deborah Potter
Senior Research Specialist
Dr. Potter is responsible for directing HSRI’s Evaluation of SAMHSA’s Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Center for Excellence. She has thirty years of research experience (in evaluation, survey, and public health research) including recent senior positions on HSRI’s Evaluation of SAMHSA’s Minority Fellowship Program; Evaluation of the National Child Stress and Trauma Network; and various state evaluations in child mental health. She has a joint Ph.D. (Sociology and Social Policy) from Brandeis University where she was awarded a 3-year Fellowship from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Mary Frances Proctor
Field Operations
Ms. Proctor is program director of the Arkansas Youth United project located in Springdale, Arkansas. Her primary responsibility is overseeing AYU’s day-to-day operations and implementing program activities. With a background in child development and nursing, Ms. Proctor has worked in the disability field for several years in both direct service and management capacities.
Luz Rivera
Director
Ms. Rivera is Director of Juntos Podemos/Together We Can Family Center based in Salem, Oregon. As the Director of this family center, Ms. Rivera is responsible for the administrative management of this social service initiative serving families who have children with developmental disabilities. She has a strong commitment to strengthen families, empowering self-advocates and community collaboration. Ms. Rivera has extensive experience in non-profit management, public-speaking and facilitation, cultural competency/diversity and is a licensed psychotherapist.
Kevin Rogers
Research Associate/Application Developer
Mr. Rogers is a senior member of the Data Analysis Team for the Data Analysis, Coordination, and Consolidation Center project for SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. He develops, maintains and provides training for a variety of applications to support the team’s analytic and reporting needs. He is also the technical liaison to CSAP’s Data Information Technology Infrastructure Contract. He previously worked for the Channing Bete Company developing analytic and report production software to support the company’s Communities That Care Youth Survey and other Prevention Science-related initiatives.
June Elizabeth Rowe
Senior Project Director
Since coming to the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) in 2001 Ms. Rowe has provided technical assistance and training in over 30 states and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the development of quality management and improvement systems that meet state and federal requirements for home and community based waiver services. As well she has provided assistance and training in such related areas as risk assessment, planning and management and incident reporting and investigation systems. She has worked extensively with states to develop monitoring instruments and review protocols (e.g., sampling, interview and record review guides), designed and conducted inter-rater reliability studies and provided training to state survey staff. Ms. Rowe received her C.A.G.S in Rehabilitation Counseling from Northeastern University.
Cheryl Sartori
Assistant Project Manager
Ms. Sartori works with the HSRI Developmental Disabilities team on a variety of projects, including the National Quality Enterprise (NQE) project, National Core Indicators (NCI), the Florida DD Council Organizational Functional Analysis, and the Georgia Delmarva projects. Ms. Sartori is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services at Northeastern University and is expected to complete her degree in June 2011.
Anna Schlissel
Project Assistant
Ms. Schlissel is a Project Assistant who spends most of her time assisting in project management for the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for SAMHSAs Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Prior to joining HSRI Ms. Schlissel worked as an Executive Assistant at Stand for Children. Ms. Schlissel holds her Bachelor's degree is in History from Goucher College.
Pat Shelton
Office Manager - HSRI West
Ms. Shelton has been managing the Oregon (Tualatin and Salem) offices for 8+ years. She handles all the day to day operations for these offices; including HR, Network Administration and Bookkeeping. Her background includes various Inventory, Customer Service and Office Management positions, as well as experience in HR and various staff training programs.
Drew Smith
Policy Assistant
Mr. Smith works on several projects related to developing person-centered funding strategies, assessing the impacts of service changes and reductions, and supporting self-advocacy. While at HSRI, Mr. Smith has worked on resource allocation projects in Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Rhode Island, North Dakota and Virginia, as well as strategic planning projects in Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and North Carolina. He is a graduate of Portland State University in Business Administration
Sarah Taub
Senior Policy Specialist
Ms. Taub currently oversees HSRI’s work on the National Core Indicators (NCI) Program, an effort to measure indicators and benchmarks of performance across state developmental disabilities service systems, and is the lead for the California Quality Assessment Services project. She also provides technical assistance to states in the areas of quality assurance and improvement strategies and has worked with the SAGE Resources team on the development of individual resource allocation methods. Prior to joining HSRI, she worked for the NWW Committee for Community Living providing direct support to adults with intellectual disabilities. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management of Human Services from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Cornell University.
Margaret Tiedemann
Research Analyst
Ms. Tiedemann is a Research Analyst on the Data Analysis Team of the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center for SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Prior to joining HSRI, Margaret worked as a Research Assistant at an evaluation research firm. She holds a Bachelor's degree with honors in Sociology from Harvard College, as well as citation in Spanish.
Johnice Veals
Training Assistant
Ms. Veals is a Training Assistant with the newly created Training Team. Johnice spends most of her time assisting in training development and coordination for the Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center (DACCC) for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at SAMHSA. Prior to join HSRI Johnice worked has a Training Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Human Resources Division. She is a certified Commonwealth of Massachusetts Diversity Trainer and has completed the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Anti Discrimination Training Program.
Lee Vorderer
Senior Project Director
Ms. Vorderer is primarily responsible for the Route to Success project, a systems change model that assists developmental disabilities Council is thinking more systemically about their impact on supports and services. She is involved in a number of other evaluation projects, and has taught in special education and at the undergraduate and graduate levels for more than 40 years. She has a Master's Degree in Education from Vanderbilt University.
Cailin Wheeler
Research Assistant
Ms. Wheeler is a Research Assistant for the Child and Family Services Team at HSRI. She is currently working on the Evaluation of Ohio’s Title IV-E Waiver project. Cailin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Oregon and worked previously as a Research Assistant studying brain plasticity in young children at the Brain Development Lab at the University of Oregon.
Dow Wieman
Senior Research Associate
Dr. Wieman currently serves as a Research Associate at HSRI, where he has worked on a variety of projects related to quality measurement and improvement in mental health care and evaluation of managed mental health care. He also serves as Research Coordinator at the Cambridge Hospital Department of Psychiatry in Cambridge, MA.