Press Release

Devaney Named Vice President and Director of Human Services Research

Contact: Cheryl Pedersen, (609) 275-2258

PRINCETON, N.J. (November 8, 2005)—Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., recently announced the appointment of senior fellow Barbara Devaney as vice president and director of human services research for the firm's Washington, D.C., office. Devaney has been affiliated with Mathematica for nearly 30 years and is a nationally recognized expert in maternal and child health, nutrition, and risk-reduction programs for youth. She has played a leading role in many of Mathematica's studies of family formation, children's nutrition, and public health programs.

Devaney is co-director of Mathematica's Building Strong Families study, which is examining initiatives to strengthen marriages and relationships in low-income families, and serves as principal investigator for the firm's evaluation of abstinence education programs. She directed the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, which updated existing knowledge about the food and nutrient intakes of U.S. infants and toddlers. Other evaluations in which she has played a key role have focused on the school lunch and school breakfast programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the Food Stamp Program. She serves on scientific committees convened by the National Academy of Sciences to study nutrition issues. She publishes widely in peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and the American Journal of Public Health . Devaney has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

"I am pleased to announce Barbara's promotion,” said Charles E. Metcalf, president of Mathematica. “I believe she will be a central part of the leadership that will keep Mathematica true to its mission and the premier organization of its kind in social policy research."

Mathematica Policy Research, a nonpartisan research firm, conducts policy research and surveys for federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector clients. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., has conducted some of the most important studies of health care, welfare, education, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the U.S. Mathematica strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to its clients.

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