Colleen Gaffney Email and Phone Number

Consultant within the talent and economic development content area. • Provides background research, data analysis, and literature reviews to create high-quality deliverables and support a variety of client projects. • Conducts environmental scans and landscape analysis for local economic development and strategicplanning initiatives.• Develops focus group materials and quantitative collections to assess outcomes for housing relief programs. • Supports facilitatation of workgroups and strategic planning sessions, gathering community and other stakeholder insights for economic development initiatives.

• Analyzed state and national data to create tailored fact sheets for 28 college presidents on student success amidst declining postsecondary enrollment trends.• Conducted qualitative comparative research on states’ dual enrollment policies to inform MCCA’s strategy for increasing college completions and achieving the governor's goal of 60% degree or certificate attainment in Michigan by 2030.• Synthesized and presented comparative statistics on enrollment, graduation, retention, and minority and low-income student success to community college leadership, facilitating state and nationwide comparisons.• Monitored bill proceedings relevant to MCCA institutions and developed policy impact reports with financial analysis, supporting the MCCA advocacy agenda and bill revision negotiations.

Research associate for International Annual Reports, Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies, and IPEDS in Education Statistics Service Institute (ESSIN) task for National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) under the Department of Education. Prior role as Technical Reviewer using the NCES Statistical Standards.Project Director: Chris Cody and Jana Kemp Staff Manager: Jijun Zhang• Prepares submission of U.S. education statistics for international data collection for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for publication of reports like Education at a Glance (EAG)• Analyzes and summarizes U.S. education system in written and verbal discussions with OECD member countries to increase international comparability of data to better inform policy makers in the construction of U.S. education policy • Represents the U.S. at biannual OECD meetings of EAG indicator development and other informal work groups• Assists in review of reports, data files, and datafile document for National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) postsecondary longitudinal surveys • Revises statistical programs in SAS and updates content for over 40 tables published using IPEDS data in the annual Digest of Education Statistics• Assists in data collection and maintenance of surveys within IPEDS and supports NCES at Technical Review Panels through creation and editing of presentation and summary materials

M-InterACTResearch Assistant in data analysis and qualitative coding Director: Richard Bagozzi and Phoebe Ellsworth Project Coordinator: Melody Ku• Qualitatively coded 35 in-depth interviews based on psychological principles (i.e. methods of decision making and emotional pathways) regarding women’s social and psychological experience during in vitro fertilization treatment• Organized and developed literature review to provide thematic structure to qualitative coding• Worked with an interdisciplinary research team using grounded theory to develop publication themes in uncovering patterns of patient’s cognitive appraisal

Newnan Advising Center Peer AdvisorSupervisor: Rob Gordon • Guided over 100 incoming students in their entrance to the university and assisted them in developing their class schedules to achieve their academic goals• Worked with a diverse range of staff in weekly meetings to better assess students’ needs and develop orientation materials • Presented material daily to a group of 20 undergraduates regarding courses, academic pathways, and the enrollment process

Modern Love: The Search for Sex, Love, and Intimacy in Mid-LifeResearch Assistant and Coding Supervisor in data analysis and qualitative codingDirector: Elizabeth ArmstrongProject Coordinator: Charity Hoffman, Angie Perone, Spencer Garrison• Qualitatively coded 30 in-depth interviews in Dedoose regarding predetermined themes on love and intimacy during mid-life• Served as the coding lead for three research assistants and supervised coding tasks for accuracy and internal consistency• Drafted weekly memos detailing work completed and provided team with summary of patterns from recently coded interviews

African American Racial Identity Lab Research Assistant in data collection and analysisDirector: Rob SellersProject Coordinator: Richard Smith• Guided participants through psychophysiological study testing the immediate and long-term effect of racial microaggressions on health • Collected and organized quantitative data regarding participant’s physical experience (i.e., blood pressure, heart rate, and sleep patterns)• Conducted preliminary literature review to assist doctoral research on racial inequalities effect on health• Provided public exposure to lab by presenting research regarding racial inequalities and health discrepancies at a university-based symposium