| |
Under Dr. Goodman's strong and creative leadership, GRG has earned a reputation for its rigorous, high quality work and impeccable client service. GRG’s staff of 15 includes research associates, research assistants, and administrative personnel. Working individually and in teams, we combine knowledge and experience in education, psychology, science, history, technology, human development, sociology, and family studies. Each project at GRG is tackled by a team composed of staff members who are best suited to the needs of the job. When appropriate, we provide additional expertise through our group of long-term senior consulting associates and through university faculty and experienced field researchers around the country. We also have regular student interns from local universities.
Brief biographical sketches of staff and consultants are provided when clicking on a staff person's name. Staff members may be reached by email: lastname@grginc.com
Irene F. Goodman, Ed. D., President
Colleen F. Manning, M.A., Director of Research
Elizabeth Bachrach, Ph. D., Senior Research Associate
Rucha Londhe, Ph. D., Research Associate
Karen C. Gareis, Ph.D., Research Associate
Rachel Schechter, Ed.M., Project Manager
Laura Houseman, B.A., Senior Research Assistant
Helena Pylvainen, B.A., Research Assistant
Kate Parkinson, B.A., Research Assistant
Molly Priedeman, B.A., Research Assistant
Anne Marie Amello, Financial Manager
Michael E. Raney, B.A., Office Coordinator
Robert T. Brennan, Ed.D.
Allan Braslow, Ph.D.
Wendy Slattebo, Ed.D.
Karen Peterman, Ph. D
Kathryn Handwerger, M.S.
, Ed.D., Founder and President, brings to clients nearly 35 years of experience in research, teaching, and consulting. She started the company in 1989 as a sole proprietor (dba Sierra Research Associates), providing a variety of research, consulting, training, and product development services. Gradually, she began to specialize in the evaluation of a wide range of educational programs. By 1995, the client base and the scope of the projects had grown significantly, prompting Dr. Goodman to hire staff and incorporate the company as Goodman Research Group, Inc. While the company has grown in size and scope, GRG remains a workplace that reflects a strong commitment to community and collaboration, both among staff members and with clients.
In her leadership role, Dr. Goodman has oversight responsibility for all GRG strategic planning and business development, project work, staff mentoring, and fiscal matters. In addition, she provides consultation on evaluation to clients and groups, and gives workshops and lectures on the subject. She continues to be involved in a couple of key projects. For instance, she served as the Principal Investigator for the eight-year longitudinal evaluation of the National Cancer Institute's Science Enrichment Program (1998-2004.) She also served as the Principal Investigator of the ground-breaking longitudinal Women's Experience in College Engineering (WECE) Project (1998-2002), funded by the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Her earliest professional experiences (following a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and a Master's in Child Development from Washington State University) were in the domain of childcare and early education. She was the director of the Tacoma Community College (TCC) childcare center in Tacoma, Washington in the mid 1970s, and chaired a panel to develop an early childhood education curriculum at TCC. She then became an Assistant Professor of Child Development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and concurrently the statewide Extension Child Development Specialist. She traveled extensively around the state, offering consultation and teaching to extension staff, other educators, and the general public, while maintaining her Madison campus faculty roles.
Dr. Goodman earned a doctorate in Education, specializing in Human Development, from Harvard University. While a doctoral student, she was an evaluation consultant to various local and national organizations and also taught courses at Dartmouth College and Tufts University as Visiting Lecturer. Prior to founding GRG, she had an extensive research consulting practice, designing and conducting evaluations, developing instructional materials, and carrying out regional training sessions on public policy issues. She also had stints as senior research associate at other research institutes.
, M.A., Director of Research, provides oversight of GRG’s research program, including establishing and helping to maintain research policies and procedures, reviewing research proposals and plans, and supporting project management and staff professional development. Ms. Manning manages select projects and provides evaluation consultation to client organizations. She joined GRG in 1993, and has carried out over 40 evaluations of educational programs, including science education programs, parenting education programs, and educational television shows and outreach campaigns. She also has carried out research on child care workforce and market rate issues.
Ms. Manning recently completed coursework in the Public Policy Ph.D. program at University of Massachusetts-Boston and currently working toward the completion of her doctoral dissertation. She has an M.A. in Child Development from Tufts University, where she taught at the Tufts Educational Day Care Center and interned with the Boston Medical Center’s Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Mount Holyoke College.
(née Fealk), Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, joined GRG in January 2000 as a Research Associate, with a strong background in child development and educational media and technology. She became a Senior Research Associate in 2002 and began heading up GRG’s Los Angeles-based West Coast office in 2005. Dr. Bachrach has designed and managed over 40 projects at GRG, ranging from studies of formal and informal science education programs to professional development workshops, and distance learning for K-12 teachers, to multimedia educational packages and national outreach initiatives accompanying public TV series and documentaries. She has written proposals and designed evaluation plans for projects that have received funding from the NSF, NIH, and HHS, and serves as an internal consultant on several evaluations.
Dr. Bachrach is currently managing a five-year longitudinal outcome evaluation for SAE International of A World in Motion, a program that aims to pique interest in science and mathematics among elementary, middle, and high school students by bringing authentic engineering design experiences into the classroom. She also currently manages a range of projects, including the PBS children’s television series and national outreach, Sid the Science Kid, for KCET; the ATETV.org project for the Association for Interactive Media Education (AIME); and Reading Rockets, a national multimedia resource for information on helping children learn to read, created by WETA-TV.
Dr. Bachrach earned a Certificate of Completion from RIVA (Research in Values and Attitudes) Moderator Training and has expertise conducting focus groups with children and adults, as well as evaluating classroom curriculum materials and local news products. Dr. Bachrach earned a doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Brandeis University, where she studied the development of children’s cognitive abilities, with a focus on their attention to and comprehension of media. She earned an A.B. in Psychology at the University of Michigan.
, Ph.D.,
Research Associate, joined GRG in June 2006. Dr. Londhe has managed a variety of evaluation projects across a number of content areas. Currently, she is completing our evaluation of a three-year ITEST project undertaken by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell; a multi-year project undertaken by the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, which includes evaluation of a traveling exhibit on Black Holes; a project for the Metropolitan Opera; and evaluation of the National Science Festival Network. Previously, she spearheaded GRG’s evaluation of the first-ever Cambridge Science Festival; the summative evaluation of the NPR radio series on the river Ganga, produced by Independent Broadcasting Associates; an evaluation of two consecutive seasons of WBGH-produced children's series FETCH.
Dr. Londhe received her doctorate from the School of Family Studies, University of Connecticut in Human Development and Family Studies, with a specialization in child development. Dr. Londhe has a graduate degree in Psychology from Bombay University, India, where she also worked as a clinician before moving to the U.S.
, Ph.D., Research Associate, joined GRG in April of 2009. She is currently managing evaluations of Trustee Advantage, a 1-year learning community, coaching, and experiential learning program funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to advance hospital Boards’ governance of quality and safety improvement; MIT’s Terrascope Youth Radio, an NSF-funded project in which urban teens create and host a radio program on environmental and Earth-system science; the education and public outreach activities associated with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, launched in 1999 by NASA as its flagship mission for X-ray astronomy; the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program, in which outstanding K–12 STEM teachers have the opportunity to bring their expertise to Congress and appropriate branches of federal government and gain insights into national educational issues; and Communities of Learning for Urban Environments and Science (CLUES), an NSF-funded project in which four museums are collaborating to train members of community-based organizations to provide STEM programming to underserved families.
Dr. Gareis has conducted studies in a variety of areas, including social support, program evaluation, and gender. Before joining GRG, she spent 12 years at Brandeis University’s Community, Families, and Work Program conducting research on work-family issues. She also spent 5 years as an adjunct lecturer at Boston University teaching Introductory Psychology and Social Psychology. Dr. Gareis received her doctorate and M.A. in Social Psychology from Boston University’s graduate program in Human Development and a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Linguistics and Anthropology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
 Rachel Schechter, Ed.M. , Project Manager, joined GRG at the beginning of 2010. She currently manages evaluations for the The Ohio State University at Lima's It's About Discovery, a STEM curriculum funded by NSF's ITEST program; a planning grant with The National Geographic Society, for the development of a climate change education program with informal and formal education institutions in Pittsburgh; NPASS2, a national partnership of after-school science using a train-the-trainer curriculum implementation; and the eighth year evaluation for Reading Rockets, an online resource for those helping teach struggling readers. Ms. Schechter is also part of the project team for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program.
Mrs. Schechter's expertise lies in child development, out-of-school learning environments and the role of the arts in education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Theater Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2002 with adviser Professor Dan Anderson. Her master's degree was received in 2003 in Arts-in-Education Harvard Graduate School of Education. Before starting her doctorate, Mrs. Schechter held management positions at two regional community music schools and became a certified early-childhood music teacher. Mrs. Schechter is in the process of earning her Ph.D. at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, focusing on the use of music as a learning tool for young children.
, B.A., Senior Research Assistant, worked part-time at GRG throughout her college years at Boston University, becoming a full-time employee in July of 2007. She was promoted to Senior RA in July 2009. Currently, she is coordinating our evaluation for the National Safety Council and is working on the KCET evaluation of the children’s TV show and outreach, Sid the Science Kid. She also serves as the RA for the evaluation of the NAE Engineering Equity Extension Services, a comprehensive research-based consultative and peer mentoring infrastructure designed to support enhanced gender equity in engineering education in the U.S.
Ms. Houseman received a BA in psychology from Boston University. As a part of her senior research work, she conducted a study on the relationships between attachment, family expressiveness, and socioeconomic status. She also studied statistics, research methods and child development. In her senior year, she worked as an intern on a GRG evaluation for Simmons College and the Girls Get Connected Collaborative of their Technology at the Crossroads project. At GRG, she continues to work on STEM related projects including SAE and Black Holes.
, joined GRG in September 2008. Her current projects include evaluations for the UCSD’s BioBridge professional development program for high school science teachers, an online video series about Advanced Technological Education opportunities at community colleges, and a website with videos about girls exploring STEM-related careers.
Ms. Pylvainen graduated with Honors from Wellesley College with a degree in International Relations History. In her senior year, she was awarded an F.A.O. Schwarz fellowship to conduct archival research at the British National Archives in London. Based on these findings, her honors thesis examined both quantitative and qualitative evidence to assess the impact of British colonial railway construction on local societies in East Africa between 1896 and 1914.
, B.A., Research Assistant, joined GRG in 2009, after graduating with Honors from Tufts University with a Bachelor’s in Child Development and Clinical Psychology. In her junior and senior years, she worked on the YouthBEAT (Berklee Evaluation at Tufts) project which evaluated the Berklee City Music, an after school music program for children in Boston. During her senior year she interned at the MGH Schizophrenia Program, working as a research assistant on various projects related to schizophrenia and metabolic disorders.
 , B.A., Research Assistant, joined GRG after graduating Cum Laude from Amherst College in 2009 with a degree in Psychology and French. Her senior honors thesis assessed the independent roles of social information and blame on memory. Following graduation, Ms. Priedeman worked as a research assistant at Yale University’s ACME lab in the social psychology department researching non-conscious influences on psychological and behavioral processes.
, Financial Manager, has been a GRG staff member since 1998. She provides financial coordination and budget monitoring for all of GRG's projects, and assists Dr. Goodman with all aspects of fiscal management. Before coming to GRG, Ms. Amello was on the staff of the Office of Professional and Continuing Studies at Tufts University for seven years, promoted from junior staff assistant to administrative assistant. She also worked at Malden Hospital and, before that, at the First National Bank of Boston. She graduated from Bunker Hill Community College in the Human Services Program.
, B.A., Office Coordinator,
has been a GRG staff member since 2008. She oversees office operations, provides clerical support to research staff, supervises undergraduate workers, and works with Dr. Goodman to ensure quality client relations. Before coming to GRG, Ms. Raney graduated from Hendrix College with a B.A. in American Studies. Concurrent with her education, Ms. Raney held a variety of administrative and clerical positions with a diverse assortment of small businesses.
, Ed.D., has provided support in quantitative research methods, from study design to statistical analysis, to GRG since 1993. Dr. Brennan has considerable experience in advanced statistical techniques, including hierarchical linear modeling, item-response theory, logistic regression, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. He was the project statistical methodologist for GRG’s NCI SEP project and has consulted on numerous other GRG projects, including the WECE study of women enrolled in engineering. He brought his vast experience in studying CPR training to several projects that GRG conducted for the American Heart Association, and now for the National Safety Council.
Dr. Brennan has authored and co-authored over 30 scholarly articles on topics in social psychology, education, medicine and public health. He currently holds an appointment in the Department of Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and has taught courses in hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), research design, measurement, data collection, and program evaluation at Harvard, at both the schools of Education and Government. He holds an A.B. from Amherst College, an M.A. from Middlebury College, and a master’s and a doctorate degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
, Ph.D., has served with GRG since 2000. He was a Co-PI for GRG’s research and evaluation work with the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross, and is a specialist in public health and public safety research, development, and education. As a researcher-practitioner working with leading universities, government agencies, not-for-profits, major corporations and in private practice, Dr. Braslow has developed, evaluated and/or administered domestic and international programs in emergency medicine, emergency cardiac care, injury control, highway safety, and consumer safety.
Dr. Braslow has served as an expert and is a member of various advisory boards for such agencies as the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes for Health (PAD trial, NHAAP), U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Transportation (Highway Safety and Trauma), U.S. Olympic Committee, and U.S. Public Health Service (AHRQ). Dr. Braslow is also a Visiting Scholar, Department of Organizational Dynamics at University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of Illinois where he specialized in public and provider education, medical research dissemination and implementation, public health and safety, and educational psychology. His M.S. (1980) and B.A. (1974) degrees are from The Pennsylvania State University.
, Ed.D., has worked with GRG since 1991 on child counseling and mental health issues, school health program development, and child and family literacy research. She has conducted reading assessments of children in family child care homes as part of GRG’s evaluation of RIFNet for Reading Is Fundamental. In recent years, she carried out observations for GRG’s ZOOM research and also reviewed documents regarding reading and literacy. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Slattebo was, until her retirement, a guidance counselor in the Wayland, Massachusetts public schools. Previously, she was a reading specialist and child therapist in a community mental health agency. She has a B.A. in Psychology from U.C. Berkeley and an M.Ed. and Ed.D (Human Development) from Harvard University.
, Ph.D., joined the GRG staff in October 2002 and was promoted to Senior RA in 2005. During that time, she managed a variety of projects. She has experience designing and carrying out evaluations for a variety of funding agencies, including DOE, IMLS, NCI, and NSF. She transitioned to part-time Senior Consultant in fall 2009. In that role, Dr. Peterman is currently directing a research project for the UCSD BioBridge professional development program, and managing an evaluation of the IT-E3 project created by the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. She has expertise in embedded assessment and evaluation design. Prior to joining GRG, Dr. Peterman consulted with Insight Research Group and assisted with a summative evaluation project at the Exploris Museum. After earning a Ph.D. from Duke University, she was an NIH Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Developmental Science at UNC Chapel Hill.
 Kathryn Handwerger, Ph.D., has worked with GRG since April 2006, coming to us with expertise in the areas of statistical analysis, quantitative research methods, and mental health. Ms. Handwerger is currently working on a number of projects, including the evaluations of NOVA scienceNOW Season 4, UCSD's IT-E3 project, and SAE AWIM. She also assists Dr. Goodman in the writing of evaluation plans for a number of NSF-ISE proposals.
Ms. Handwerger received a BA in Neuroscience and Psychobiology from Connecticut College in 2003. Prior to beginning her doctoral program, she worked as an RA at Brown University's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine examining the mediating roles of maternal depression and smoking on stress reactivity in children and adolescents. In 2006 she was awarded a three-year NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2009 she was awarded the Tufts Graduate Student Council Award for Graduate Student Contribution to Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring. She recently completed a doctoral program (ABD) at Tufts University, with a degree in Experimental Psychopathology, focusing on psychiatric neuroimaging in anxiety disorders and the mediating role of emotion on memory.
Return to Top
|
