Dr. Wang has served as Project Director and/or Senior Analyst on over a dozen other program evaluation projects including the Evaluation of Residential Resources in Maryland for Children with Special Needs, the Evaluation of the Maryland Substance Abuse Services Demonstration Project (Title IV Waiver), the Evaluation of the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Privatization and Demonstration Pilot Programs, the Evaluation of the Impact of Teachers’ Professional Development, the Evaluation of the impact of Opioid Treatment Program Accreditation, the  Evaluation of the Effect of Increased State Aid to Local School Systems through the Bridge To Excellence Act, the 2001 Evaluation of the Baltimore City Public Schools, and the Evaluation of the Education and Training for Employment in Morocco. She also served as Senior Analyst on a multi-year project to establish the National Evaluation Data and Technical Assistance Center (NEDTAC) for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). She developed the initial design of the CSAT Client-Level Minimum Evaluation Data Set (MEDS) to guide CSAT grantees in their program evaluation effort.  She managed the Multi-Project Analysis (MPA) projects for several CSAT programs and participated in designing the Cross-Site Evaluation for CSAT programs.  Dr. Wang was invited as an expert consultant by the Office of Inspector General in the U.S. Department of State to review the research methodology of one of their media impact projects, assess the validity of the study results, and provide technical advice on the research design and analytical approach.

In addition, Dr. Wang has served as Project Director and/or Senior Statistician on over 30 survey research and data analysis projects.  These include the 2002, 2004, and 2006 Maryland Cancer Screening (MCS) surveys, the National Follow-up Survey of Veterans’ Health Care Services, the National Survey of Veteran Entrepreneurs and Service-Disabled Veteran Entrepreneurs, the National Survey of Women’s Sexual Health, the National Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries, the National Survey of Opioid Treatment Program Participants, the 2002-2008 Annual Surveys of Refugees, the National Survey of NSF Principal Investigators, the National Customer Satisfaction Survey for the National Endowment for Humanities, the Customer Satisfaction Survey of Maryland Mental Health Care Services Recipients, the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Survey (MHICS), the Maryland Survey of Small Businesses, the Maryland Lottery Tracking Survey, the North Carolina WIA Customer Service Satisfaction Survey, the Housing Survey of Montgomery County Residents, the FEMA Customer Service Survey,  the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of the Montgomery County Public Schools, the Survey of Parents of Students in Baltimore City Public Schools, and the National Survey of School Library Media Centers.  She also served as an expert survey methodologist/statistician on class lawsuits and other litigation cases.  Dr. Wang holds a Master’s degree in journalism studies from the University of Wales at Cardiff, U.K. and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Bethanie X. Wang, Ph.D., Research Associate

Dr. Wang has 5 years of research experience in the area of child development, parental development, parenting, child and adolescent mental health, early childhood education and child care policy, family therapy & mediation, presented eight papers at national conferences, co-authored two books, translated book chapters from English to Chinese, and have solid training in quantitative, qualitative, and survey methodology. Her dissertation research was focused on “maternal education, maternal language acculturation, parental involvement, and maternal social support as predictors of the academic achievement and socioemotional development of Asian American children. Dr. Wang designed an intervention program for Chinese American and immigrant women suffering from intimate partner violence, which was awarded as “Best Student Paper” by the National Council of Family Relations in 2007. She also participated in the evaluation of the Family Strengthening Program of Asian American LEAD, the Strengthening Families Program I (SFP-I), the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), and KMC Community Mental Health Program of Georgetown University and reviewed nine grant proposals for Rural Maryland Council on Strengthening the Well-Being of Rural Maryland Families funded by Annie E. Casey Foundation. As a Project Leader and Website Content Developer and Editor at Clever Software Group Company in Beijing, China, Dr. Wang had 2 years of experience in designing educational websites, software, and online courses for students, teachers, and administrators of Grade 1-12. She holds a Master’s degree in Education (Concentration: Parenting and Family Education) from Beijing Normal University, China and a Ph.D. in Family Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, School of Public Health. 

Chenggang Zhu, Ph.D., Senior Statistician/Analyst.

Dr. Zhu has over ten years of experience in survey research, market analysis, statistical modeling, data mining, and management of large commercial databases. He has served as Senior Statistician/Analyst on over 20 projects regarding consumer/product marketing research, direct marketing, behavioral marketing, customer satisfaction/insight surveys, survey data analysis, and evaluation of marketing campaigns. He developed models for determining market potentials and store location selection based on geo-demographic and economic data; performed customer segmentation analysis based on their profiles and shopping preference; analyzed point of sales data to identify typical shopping basket items for product development, pricing, and local customer targeting; utilized store inventory and sales data for store optimization analysis in terms of store size, product assortment level, and local demographics; conducted competitiveness analysis to compare and differentiate competitors in the market; analyzed store traffic and sales data to examine store performance/sales growth and related driving factors; implemented projects to evaluate the effectiveness of TV campaign for retail stores in the UK and Japan; performed web traffic and sales analysis for online stores’ project/clients/vendor coordination and management; designed and managed large scale customer survey projects for market intelligence and customer satisfaction/insights research, performed data mining and segmentation analysis to delineate hidden patterns and structure to help develop new sales opportunities and business strategies; worked on credit card campaigns (database marketing) for the finance industry, and evaluated the post-campaign outcomes to help revise scoring and predictive models and improve strategies for the future marketing campaigns. Dr. Zhu is highly proficient in SAS, SPSS, SQL, Oracle, and Teradata. He holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Toledo and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Notre Dame.

Albert C. E. Parker, Ph.D., Senior Survey Methodologist/Analyst

Dr. Parker has over 25 years of experience as a survey research designer, manager, and analyst.  He has directed sample survey data collection in all major modes, including personal interviews, mail, telephone, the Internet, and records abstraction.  He managed two iterations of a customer satisfaction survey for the National Center for Education Statistics that included drawing samples from multiple frames, telephone screening of sample segments to establish eligibility and identify respondents, multiple modes for recruitment (e-mail and postal mail) and data collection modes (paper with key entry, Web, and telephone follow-up), unduplication and weighting, and reports that included longitudinal comparison of key indicators and comparison of satisfaction ratings across subpopulations.  He has conducted research on threats to individual confidentiality in individual data files and on for preserving confidentiality while making data available to researchers.  He analyzed the cost effects of alternative formats and follow-up methodologies for the 2000 Decennial Census household long and short forms, and evaluated the early implications of emerging technologies for the 2010 Decennial Census.  He provided technical direction for research on imputation of missing and erroneous data in a large institutional census (public schools and school districts).  Dr. Parker Received his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from Washington University at St. Louis.

Kasey Chen, M.S., Senior Computer Programmer/Systems Analyst.

Ms. Chen has over 15 years of experience in computer programming, database development/ management, and computer systems support. For the last six years, she has worked extensively in website design and hosting, internet accessible database development/management, and web-based survey programming and data manipulation. These included: developing web-based data collection forms for the Trinity Students Reference Cohort Study and designing security measures for its web databases; programming web survey instruments for the Steppin’ Up Youth Intervention Study, managing its web database, and importing ASCII data into SAS datasets; developing a VB application for NICHD to read raw data files in different formats and convert them into a standardized database; developing and implementing routines in analyzing and graphically displaying data for the Center for Population Research using Visual Basic 6.0 and Crystal Report; developing customized data verification and cleaning applications for the Testosterone Patch Study; and designing procedures for the NIH Division of Intramural Research to conduct data migration and create drop tables, sequences, constraints, and foreign keys. Ms. Chen is highly proficient in EZSurvey, EZTool, Dreamweaver, Flash, EditPlus, FrontPage, Oracle Developer/2000, Oracle SQL/PL, Visual Basic 6.0, HTML, 4.0 JavaScript, CGI programming, MS Access 2003, DMBS 7.0, MS-Excel, Crystal Report, SAS, SPSS, and MINITAB. Ms. Chen holds a Master’s degree in Computer Information Science from Strayer University. She is a certified SAS Base programmer and a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

James A. Swartz, Ph.D., Public Health Specialist (Substance Abuse Treatment & Prevention)

Dr. Swartz has 20 years of experience in mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention research, which has resulted in over 30 peer reviewed publications, eight books and book chapters, over 20 study reports, and numerous presentations. His research topics include screening for serious mental illness in populations with co-occurring substance use disorders; the mediating effects of substance use between serious mental illness and arrest; substance abuse treatment and prevention for women; substance abuse treatment in the criminal justice system; and the impact of welfare policy on substance abuse. Dr. Swartz has served as a reviewer for a number of professional journals such as International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, Contemporary Drug Problems, Substance Use and Misuse, American Journal of Public Health, Women & Criminal Justice, Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. He also served as a grant reviewer for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Substance Abuse Policy Research Program. Dr. Swartz holds a Master’s degree in behavioral research from Loyola University at Chicago, Illinois, and a Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology from Northwestern University Medical School. He is currently an Associate Professor at Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Suzanne Bowler, Ph.D., Health Policy Analyst.

Dr. Bowler has 20 years of experience in designing, conducting, and managing single- and multi-site public health research and evaluation projects for Federal and State Government clients including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) and Treatment (CSAT), SAMHSA, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Specific skills include process and outcome evaluation design, evaluation training, survey research, qualitative and quantitative data collection including site visits and in-person interviewing, focus group facilitation, case study research and analysis, content analysis of primary and secondary data, cross-site data analysis, and data management. She has also written technical reports and publications including Federal monographs and peer-reviewed journal articles, and technical and grant proposals for a variety of Federal initiatives. Dr. Bowler holds an M.A. and Ph.D. both in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Sukari Ivester, Ph.D., Social Epidemiologist.

Trained as a social epidemiologist, Dr. Ivester’s general research interests are in the social and structural determinants of health outcomes, particularly among vulnerable populations. Her research experience includes several evaluations in the areas of Maternal/Child Health and Substance Abuse Prevention funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since 1997. Dr. Ivester is a Research Fellow at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley as well as an Adjunct Professor of Medical Sociology at the California State University, East Bay. She is currently leading an evaluation for the State of California of the Mental Health Service Act (MHSA), a $350 Million effort to transform Mental Health Services in the state. In addition to a qualitative analysis of the Proposition 63/Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Evaluation. she is investigating urban health vulnerabilities from a spatial perspective as related to food access and the built environment. She has also been funded by the National Institutes of Health for both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research. Dr. Sukari Ivester received her BA. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.

L. Dee Torre, Ph.D., Education Specialist.

Dr. L. Dee Torre has more than 30 years of experience in education evaluation and policy analysis, especially in early childhood mental health and behavioral issues, special education, parental involvement and education administration. For eight years, she was a master teacher and administrator for students with disabilities ages 1-7 years. She has also worked extensively as an advocate for interagency collaboration regarding students with intense individual needs. She has recently retired as a partner at MGT of America, Inc., a national firm where she conducted statewide and local agency evaluation and planning projects in several states and is now pursuing projects of high interest as an independent consultant. Her MGT projects included: a three-year project to evaluate the Judith P. Hoyer Early Care and Education Enhancement program for the Maryland Department of Education; a seven-year longitudinal study that assisted the New York State Education Department in determining the long-term effect of preschool special education programs and services; the evaluation of California’s Child Care Development Block Grants; a comprehensive study for the Florida Commission on Children with Developmental Delays; the Georgia, and South Carolina Reading Excellence Act Program Evaluations; the evaluations of Reading First funding outcomes for K-3 students in New Jersey and Mississippi. Dr. Torre holds a doctoral degree in Educational Administration and Policy Studies (with a minor in Educational Psychology, Testing, and Measurement) from the State University of New York at Albany. Additionally, she has an M.S. degree in Special Education, with a minor in reading, and is a certified teacher and superintendent.

Alberto F. Cabrera, Ph.D., Education Specialist (Higher Education).

Dr. Alberto F. Cabrera is a full professor at the College of Education, the University of Maryland. He has conducted over 20 years of research in college choice, college students, classroom experiences, minorities in Higher Education, and economics of education. He was also a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Penn State University, SUNY-Albany, and Arizona State University-West campus. Dr. Cabrera has served on the National College Access Network’s board of directors as well as in the editorial boards of the top journals in higher education in the USA and Spain (e.g., Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education and Revista Complutense de Educación). He was a member of the advisory board for Pathways to College Network and currently serves on the GEAR UP Evaluation Council of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), a 14-member group charged with a mandate to develop a conceptual research framework and data collection design that will be implemented in GEAR UP programs nationally. His work on classroom practices, the role of finances on college persistence and on determinants of default behavior has received several awards. He was the co-leader of the Diversity Institute, a project funded by NSF seeking to create inclusive teaching practices in STEM fields (http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/cirtl/diversityinstitute). He was co-principal investigator for the IES grant titled Dream Deferred which provided a most comprehensive review of the impact of GEAR UP on awareness and readiness for college among low-income middle school students. Dr. Cabrera holds a Ph. D. in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison.

Gina Gu, M.S., Senior Database Specialist

Ms. Gu has over 20 years of comprehensive working experiences in all phases of enterprise business application development process. She has over 10 years of experiences in ORACLE, and 4 years in DB2 database applications as a lead software engineer and application DBA. She has a solid understanding of relational database architecture, with extensive knowledge in database design, modeling and performance turning.  She has broad industrial experiences include those in Telecommunication, Finance, Healthcare, Education and Manufacturing environments. She is an energetic, self-motivated, and highly efficient worker, who has worked well with team members in many large projects as well as smaller independent projects.

George Ji, M.B.A., Senior Internet Service Specialist

Mr. Ji has over 10 years of experience in program management and Internet-based development and services, including web-based survey design, programming and hosting, website planning, design, development, hosting and maintenance, web-based database development and data management, as well as online business transactions.  He has led/worked on more than 20 internet service projects.  Leading a team of IT specialists, Mr. Ji has successfully transferred a large, on-going web survey, including its software applications, survey databases, records, and other associated materials from a Citrix server to Avar’s multi-platform server without interrupting the survey operation.  He is currently leading a number of Avar’s web-based projects as follows: 1) hosting and management of the Transforming Church Index survey and producing customized on-line reports; 2) hosting and management of the Performula Assessment, a 360 degree performance review tool for corporate clients; 3) hosting and management of the Healthy Business Index, an on-line organizational assessment tool; 4) design and development of an on-line inventory of healthcare services databases for AHRQ; and 5) providing website, e-mail, and intranet hosting and data archiving services for a number of companies and organizations.  Mr. Ji holds a Master's degree in American Studies from Shanghai International Studies University and an M.B.A. from Webster University at St.Louis with an emphasis on technology management.

Jeff  Zhu, M.A., Senior Statistical and CATI Programmer

Mr. Zhu has over ten years of experience in statistical programming, CATI programming, sampling execution, sample management, data analysis, and graphs presentation.  He has participated in more than 20 research projects including the 2002 and 2004 Maryland Cancer Screening Surveys (MCS), the National Survey Veteran Entrepreneurs, the National Survey of Medicare Beneficiaries, the Annual Survey of Refugees, the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Survey, the Maryland Survey of Small Businesses, the Maryland Lottery Tracking Survey, the Housing Survey of Montgomery County Residents, the Evaluation of Residential Resources for Mentally Challenged Children in Maryland, and the Evaluation of the Maryland Child Support Enforcement
Privatization and Demonstration Pilot Programs. He is highly proficient in SPSS, SAS, Sawtooth WinCati, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint.  Mr. Zhu holds a Master’s degree in educational statistics & evaluation from the University of Maryland at College Park. 

Kitty Tang, M.S., Statistical Programmer/Data Analyst

Ms. Tang has five years of experiences in statistical analysis and data management.  She has worked on the Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey; the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Annual Survey of Refugees; the Evaluation of the “Communities Choosing” Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program; and the Global Survey of USG Exchange Alumni Coordinators, responsible for data cleaning and editing, statistical programming and analysis of survey data, graphic presentation of analysis results, and assisting in preparation of study reports.  She is highly proficient in SPSS, Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, Power Point, Minitab, and Photoshop. Ms. Tang holds a Master’s degree in biophysics from the University of Vermont, and is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Maryland, College Park, specializing in science education and educational measurement.  Her doctoral research involves a NSF funded project to develop strategies for improving current science education on federal policy level as well as Maryland state indicator level through investigating teachers’ modifications of curriculum.

Kevin Ji, B.S., IT Specialist

Mr. Ji has over five years of experience in computer sciences and IT technology.  From fixing computer chips to securing corporate networks, from programming modules to implementing enterprise solutions, Mr. Ji has a wide spectrum experiences working with a variety of clients/customers. He worked for various departments within Siemens Medical Solutions around the enterprise system Soarian for two years.  Kevin is currently working on a number of projects that involve IT development and support, including development of a national online inventory of healthcare services datasets/databases for the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) and two web-based global surveys for the U.S. Department of State.  He is responsible for restructuring and optimizing the backend database, building the front end interactive web portal, designing and developing the IT structure for web surveys, programming survey questionnaires, managing the day-to-day survey operations, and processing survey data.  Mr. Ji holds a B.S. in Information Systems from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.  

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