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Mathematica Policy Research Names New Senior Fellows
Contact: Jennifer de Vallance, (202) 484-4692
PRINCETON, NJ—July 11, 2013—Mathematica is proud to announce the appointment of John Hall, Susanne James-Burdumy, and Robert G. Wood as senior fellows.
“I’m delighted to recognize John Hall, Susanne James-Burdumy, and Robert G. Wood as senior fellows. Their appointments are a tribute to the national reputations they have built in their fields. Their distinguished contributions to the policy and research communities have had a real impact on compelling and complex issues we face in the realms of education, family support, and survey methodology,” said Paul Decker, president and CEO of Mathematica.
John Hall is a nationally recognized sampling expert, with expertise in random-digit-dial surveys and the use of cell phones in data collection. Hall initially joined Mathematica in 1971, and during his more than three decades with the company has had a profound impact on Mathematica’s work related to sampling. He has contributed to a long list of critical studies including the National School Lunch Program, Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification (APEC), Work First New Jersey, The Community Tracking Study, School Nutrition Dietary Assessment (SNDA), Fragile Families, Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Study, and the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). Over the course of his career, Hall has designed nearly all of Mathematica’s random-digit-dial surveys and provided outstanding guidance related to area probability samples, complex samples from list frames, and multiple frame samples. His range of expertise in sample design is reflected in his publications “Area Probability Sampling,” “Cross-Sectional Survey Design,” “Sampling Fraction,” and “Sampling Frames” in Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods. Hall has also published in peer-reviewed journals in various substantive areas, including Journal of the American Dietetic Association and Social Science & Medicine.
Since joining Mathematica in 1999, Susanne James-Burdumy has been an outstanding leader of research in a number of substantive areas within education. She has led several large studies for the U.S. Department of Education—including the Evaluation of Mandatory Random Drug Testing, the National Evaluation of Reading Comprehension, and more recently, the National Evaluation of Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. She also leads the Playworks Evaluation, one of the largest evaluations currently sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. James-Burdumy’s research has contributed greatly to the policy discussion, and her work has appeared in Economic Inquiry, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Adolescent Health, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, and Journal of Urban Health. She presents frequently at professional conferences and client meetings, and her studies are consistently highlighted in education news outlets, with the Playworks Evaluation receiving national media attention. James-Burdumy currently serves as area leader for education.
Robert G. Wood is a nationally recognized expert in family policy, parental employment, and policies affecting at-risk youth. Since joining Mathematica in 1994, he has worked on a wide range of projects for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies, conducting research on topics related to teen parents, dropout prevention, employment, adolescent pregnancy prevention, and support for healthy relationships. Wood led the impact analysis for the Building Strong Families study, one of Mathematica’s largest studies, and he has directed the study for the past three years. Wood also leads two other large projects—the Personal Responsibility Education Program Multi-Component Evaluation and the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration. He has established a strong publication record in public policy, labor, and family support journals, as well as invited chapters in edited volumes. He has published articles in Children and Youth Services Review, Contemporary Economic Policy, Emerging Methods in Family Research, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Public Welfare, and Social Service Review, and he frequently presents his work at academic and policy conferences. Wood has achieved national recognition for his scholarly work, and in 2012 received the Vernon Prize for the best article of the year for a paper summarizing the Building Strong Families impact results in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. At Mathematica, Wood has served as area leader for family support work since 2009 and as associate director of human services research since 2010.
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