Capacity Catalyst is on a mission to improve data use in the social sector by connecting capacity with need for a thriving equitable social data ecosystem. We currently do this largely through 2 programs:1. Our signature high-touch, mentored, cohort-based summer research/data externship, and 2. Austin’s Community-Engaged Research Course designed and led in partnership with MEASURE, Huston-Tillotson University (Austin’s HBCU and oldest institution of higher learning), and now also at Texas State University (a Hispanic Serving Institution).We have also hosted and facilitated other partnerships and networks since we incorporated in 2018, including UT-Austin’s School of Information’s Social Justice Informatics Faculty Fellowship, the Navigating Applied Anthropology Careers virtual panel discussion, facilitating a regionwide Professional unLearning Community on Equitable Evaluation, and co-designing/co-facilitating new formats of Mission Capital's Data You Can Use workshops.Our work is guided by our 5 strategic values, and a strong commitment to fully and fairly compensating everyone we engage in our programs and operations:*We build on the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion - intentionally - in everything we do.*We listen to our Black, Indigenous peers and communities of color, follow their lead, and amplify their voices when called upon.*We boost social impact by building trust, comfort, and capacity in using data.*We launch careers by connecting passion and social impact.*We focus our passion to act on bold, innovative ideas to create an equitable social data ecosystem.

CERC is made up of 4 key components: 1. curriculum, 2. practical experience, 3. equitable compensation, and 4. community engaged evaluation. Undergraduate research scholars receive training through the course using a curriculum and approach co-developed and co-facilitated by Huston-Tillotson University, Capacity Catalyst, and Measure. The curriculum includes training in quantitative, qualitative, and community-engaged research, emphasizing research ethics and combating bias in data. Teams of scholars are then matched with a non-profit organization to apply their skills and provide the non-profits with data and evaluation support. Many of the participating non-profit organizations do not have many means to get the data and evaluation support they need. Both the undergraduate research scholars and nonprofit partners gain practical experience working together to address the specific research questions of interest to the nonprofit. Both groups are compensated, which models a practice of research equity. At the end of the semester, scholars present their findings to a community of their peers, nonprofit partners, and other interested community members. The nonprofits can then build on the findings and/or use them to inform continued research and data efforts in their organization.During each semester, scholars and nonprofit partners engage in a logic model development process to co-design the evaluation and measures of success for that semester, ensuring that each participant has the opportunity to consider and express what they (would) find the most meaningful impacts of their participation. Scholars and nonprofit partners also share in the sensemaking process and have equal input into how and with whom the data and stories about their experience are shared.

Our signature program involves advanced undergraduate or graduate students, or recent graduates, participating in a paid summer Externship cohort experience in which part- or full-time externs are matched with host social sector organizations to complete a research/data project.Scope: We focus on social impact “host” entities (for profit, for benefit, nonprofit, government, school district, etc) that have data/research questions but not the internal capacity to answer those questions; offering a Pay-What-You-Can fee model to hosts led by People of the Global Majority (i.e. those identifying as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color).Our priority is to correct historic inequities of access/resources to the use of data. We believe Capacity Catalyst is uniquely positioned to support Communities of the Global Majority/BIPOC Communities by simultaneously reducing the burden of tracking, cleaning, summarizing, analyzing, and reporting data and increasing organizations’ capacity to learn from and use data throughout their work - from fundraising to service delivery, and every step in between.Match: We intentionally recruit and match externs to host orgs, based on skill set, and with the aim of mobilizing a cohort of externs who wish to use their professional skills to advance social, racial, economic, and other forms of justice.Ongoing Support: We continue and expand support to the host organizations through administering the employment and payment of externs’ stipends, along with periodic check-ins throughout the externship period, and when necessary, acting as a third party through which project management challenges can be addressed and resolved as they arise. We also offer robust extern support through a variety of means: - monthly group virtual mental/emotional wellbeing workshops; and ad hoc 1:1 sessions- hearing from 3-4 local Black/Brown research and data experts from a variety of sectors, and- 1:1 professional mentorship from a community-based mentor.

Conduct a community-driven evaluation of UnboundEd’s new professional learning community tool.

Co-design, develop, and conduct research studies and projects of mutual interest to Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute and the Fellow to better understand virtual learning experiences relevant to educators and learners participating in Michigan Virtual Learning University K-12 courses.

Particpate in the EdTech Genome Project (a sector-wide initiative to help people understand what edtech works where and why) as a member of the steering committee working to develop the EdTech Implementation Framework through identifying the critical, contextual variables that influence implementation, and thus efficacy, of all education technology solutions.Lead a group of 15-20 researchers working to ensure the quality and uptake of the EdTech Implementation Framework.

Prepare and deliver, along with another co-facilitator all aspects of a 7-hour training workshop called "Data You Can Use" to nonprofit staff tasked with developing a data/evaluation strategy for a program within their organization. A critical learning objective for this workshop is: understand different approaches to research, data, and evaluation and how those approaches can influence equity .

Provide on-demand mixed-methods support and advisory services including analytics design, study design, and statistical analysis and visualization related to Year 5 implementation of the District's Personalized Learning Initiative, Information Technology adoption, and learning engagement.

In partnership with Education Reimagined, lend expertise and experience to develop strategic options in response to five key questions for building the learner-centered field and demonstrating ecosystems; to advance the Education Reimagined organizational aim of enduring the learner-centered field is distinct, credible, and robust enough to be worthy of significant investment and have the capacity, critical mass, and connectedness to create full-blown demonstrations of new learner-centered education systems.

In partnership with another Steering Committee member of the Teaching and Learning Research Community, assist the Evergreen Education Group (EEG) with the leadership and facilitation of the Digital Learning Research Community (DLRC) within the Digital Learning Collaborative (DLC). The DLRC is one of many member-led initiatives within the DLC. This community is centered around teaching and learning research, with the aim of advancing evidence-based practice within the field of K-12 digital learning.

Facilitate the co-design of a community-led evaluation process to be included in Texas' State Plan for Independent Living - as soon as the 2023 renewal of this plan - as part of a grant to the TX State Independent Living Council from Good Measure intended to ensure that the objectives and measures included in the State Plan centers community voice and follows both the principles of the Independent Living Philosophy and Just Research Principles.

Support UnboundEd's efforts to finalize a strategic plan aligned to their organizational theory of change and impact and reach outcomes.

Provide, as one of five subject matter experts, advisory services in learning sciences to the ISTE/EdSurge team, in support of creating an evidence-based, practitioner-friendly framework for evaluating the usability and implementation criteria of digital curriculum and other edtech teaching and learning products.

Conduct qualitative and quantitative investigations on barriers of implementing successful project-based learning pedagogies in resource-scarce settings, including co-designing a research framework; data mapping, collection, analysis, and synthesis; and developing, reporting, and disseminating findings, insights, and solutions.

Provide just research advisory services through working sessions, brainstorming, reacting to documents, and making connections to others to advance Illuminate Literacy's evidence-building work in a just, equitable, and inclusive way.

Co-create, with ISTE and other experts, a set of evidence-based, practitioner-friendly criteria useful for assessing alignment of edtech teaching and learning products, including digital curriculum, to the learning sciences.

Provide instruction professional services for the pilot and each session of the ISTE U 6-week course Launch into Learning Sciences: How Learning Works, including supporting online learners through regular communications, answering questions, facilitating online discussions, providing feedback on and grading assignments.

Developed a concept paper on Just Education Research as part of an interdisciplinary cohort experience of 12 Fellows, each selected for their unique expertise and perspective, to accelerate progress against education's biggest challenges.

Provide cohort and individual evaluation/data/measurement coaching to nonprofit teams participating in Good Measure's 2020 Measuring What Matters initiative, including workshops on logic modeling, equitable evaluation, community engaged research, and quantitative/qualitative measurement of outcomes.

In consultation with program developers, designed the logic model and evaluation study, including evaluation questions, outcomes, metrics, data collection procedures, and analyses for a basic income pilot to be conducted in Santa Clara County, CA.

Led 2019 Blended Learning Measurement Fellowship with a cohort of 6 individuals conducting research that advances TLA’s measurement agenda for blended learning.Led TLA’s research study in partnership with Yet Analytics for Lindsay Unified School District.

Teach Introduction to Social Justice Informatics to undergraduate students at the School of Information during fall semesters. Also led two of four discussion sections of Ethical Foundations of Informatics in Spring 2023.

I led TLA’s work on measurement to increase our evidence base of equitable blended practices. See more at: http://learningaccelerator.org/

As part of TLA's incubation of Imagine Worldwide, I led initial measurement and evaluation work at Imagine, testing the hypothesis that students can become literate and numerate with little to no adult supervision. I continued to serve as an advisor to Imagine on measurement and evaluation strategy. See more at: http://www.imagineworldwide.org/

Quantitative data manager and analyst for the external evaluations of Washington State's HB2136 & RTI^2 programs; Hawai’i's Pihana Na Mamo & Reading First programs; and Oregon's Reading First program.

Provided over-the-phone and email support to faculty, staff, and students at MIT on all supported hardware and software (primarily software), including MacOS, Windows, Linux, MS Office, printers, laptops, and desktops.