Karen is a principal research scientist with deep expertise in student-centered learning, community-centered approaches, and building capacity. She brings an understanding of how student-centered pedagogy and practices can transform learning environments and improve outcomes. Her work spans capacity building and technical assistance (TA) across K-16 education and policy issues, strategic planning, and mixed-methods research. As a team leader and researcher, she helps build capacity and create solutions at local, regional, state, and national levels. Her expertise spans educator effectiveness initiatives, strategic planning focused on access, community-centered evaluation approaches, and performance measurement systems. 

At NORC, Karen supports capacity building and research initiatives. She has guided state education agencies and education service centers in identifying and analyzing data to address opportunity gaps through targeted strategies. Her work is grounded in a commitment to asset-based approaches and reflective practice, helping teams better support learners. She brings deep knowledge of education policy, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and federal grant programs, combined with practical expertise in building organizational capacity to address achievement gaps and improve educational outcomes through frameworks centered on access efforts.

Before joining NORC, Karen provided capacity building and TA to multiple states and served as a member of the evaluation and continuous improvement teams for several technical assistance centers, including two comprehensive centers and two national technical assistance centers. In addition, she coached community-based organizations on community-responsive evaluation methods. She has developed needs assessments and co-created resource materials for multiple partners. Most recently, her leadership in the external evaluation of New Orleans’ SEED grant—a comprehensive initiative addressing teacher shortages through nontraditional preparation and “Grow Your Own” pathways—highlighted her commitment to student-centered teaching practices.