Independent Consultant

I am an independent higher education research and data strategy consultant specializing in continuous improvement approaches. I help institutions and systems design rigorous, practitioner-engaged inquiry processes that drive sustainable organizational change. Over six years in higher education policy research, I led and contributed to continuous improvement initiatives across multi-institutional systems serving 200,000+ students. This work involved coordinating evidence-based reforms while building practitioner capacity and engagement throughout the inquiry process. My research has directly influenced policy adoption at institutional and state levels. I served as project lead and key research personnel on grant-funded studies totaling over $3M, including federally-funded research examining educational reform and student success strategies. Key outcomes include policy reforms based on longitudinal outcome analysis and stakeholder engagement, interactive data tools and dashboards used by over 30 institutions, and published research that informed national conversations about educational improvement. My work draws on improvement science principles that emphasize rapid cycles of inquiry, practical measurement, and iterative refinement. I design research processes that balance methodological rigor with actionable insights, facilitating collaborative inquiry where practitioners and researchers work together to interpret findings, identify root causes, and test solutions. I specialize in developing the data infrastructure and organizational capacity that institutions need for sustained improvement. Much of my expertise centers on extracting actionable insights from underutilized data and designing analytical tools that support ongoing inquiry rather than compliance reporting. I excel at creating systems where practitioners can engage with data collaboratively while building both technical capacity and organizational will for continuous improvement. My areas of expertise include practical measurement and data system design, collaborative inquiry processes, policy evaluation, multi-site research coordination, implementation research, communities of practice and improvement networks, and strategic facilitation and organizational capacity building. I recently transitioned to independent consulting to create flexibility for family commitments while maintaining engagement with improvement research. I look forward to engaging with ISN members around methodological questions in improvement research, particularly how to design practical measures that support rapid inquiry cycles, how to balance rigorous evaluation with real-world constraints, and how to structure multi-site research that enables both local learning and cross-context knowledge building.