Staff
Bo Zhu, is a senior researcher at AIR, with extensive experience with educator effectiveness projects and student outcome analysis at both state and district levels. At AIR, she contributes to the design and implementation of program evaluations and research studies and develops quantitative data-collection instruments such as surveys. Prior to her work at AIR, Zhu earned her Master’s degree in International Education Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she gained experience in quantitative methodologies in statistics and program evaluation.
Cara Wylie, EdD, is a Program Coordinator and PAL Classroom grant manager for the eMINTS National Center. Cara was a classroom teacher for 11 years in the St. Louis area before becoming an eMINTS Instructional Specialist in 2000. During her time with eMINTS, she has worked with teachers, administrators, and technology specialists through professional development and on-site support. Along with her Area Instructional Specialist role, she coordinated the eMINTS National Center annual conference for several years and served as the core program coordinator.
Christi Bergin, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation for the University of Missouri - College of Education. Dr. Bergin is a professor of research with expertise in the social-emotional well-being of children and the evaluation of educational and medical programs. Dr. Bergin has conducted multiple studies into the effects of social and emotional learning in students. Her most recent publication is Designing a Prosocial Classroom: Fostering Collaboration in Students from PreK-12 with the Curriculum You Already Use.
Crystal Aguilera, is a research assistant at AIR, serving as a site coordinator for the (PAL) program, facilitating efficient communication and data transfer between participating schools and the research teams. She began her research career as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California in 2018, working on both qualitative and quantitative methods investigating adolescent motivation and education. Currently, within AIR, her focus is on meta-analyses examining the sources of heterogeneity and efficacy of K-12 and undergraduate classroom interventions.
Jen Foster, EdS, is an eMINTS Instructional Specialist and has worked for the University of Missouri to provide professional development for educators since 2011. Jen began her journey in education in 2002 as a 4th grade eMINTS classroom teacher. In 2011, Jen became a certified eMINTS Affiliate Trainer and began working for the eMINTS National Center. In 2017, Jen completed her EdS and began working on her Education Doctoral degree. Jen is a Google Certified Trainer and Administrator and works to support others in using Google Workspace Apps to increase productivity, communication, and collaboration. Her recent publication can be found in ISTE's Empowered Learner magazine titled, Spotlight on Standards: Take Steps to Embrace the Learner Standard. Jen enjoys working with educators to embrace research-based instructional strategies in a technology-rich learning environment.
Lindsay Brockmeier, is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology and a graduate research assistant at the University of Missouri. She is a member of the Prosocial Development and Education Research Lab under the direction of Christi Bergin, Ph.D. Her research interests focus on social-emotional learning and prosocial behavior.
Prior to entering her doctoral studies at Mizzou, Lindsay earned her Master’s degree in School Counseling and School Psychological Examiner certification. She worked as a middle school counselor in the St. Louis area, as well as a psychological examiner in Columbia, Missouri.
Nikki Schwartz, is an Educational Program Coordinator for the eMINTS National Center. Nikki started her career in education in 2006 as an eMINTS teacher in 3rd grade. Throughout her time in education, she worked as a 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher. After receiving her Master's in Educational Technology from the University of Missouri, she served as an instructional technology coach and a library media specialist. Nikki is excited about the opportunities to work with teachers and students, focusing on high-quality lesson plans in collaborative and technology-enhanced classrooms.
Ryan Williams, PhD, is a principal researcher at AIR. He leads large-scale evaluations and research syntheses at AIR. He serves as the principal investigator for evaluating the eMINTS prosocial behavior and active learning (PAL) program. He has led several, recent, impact and implementation evaluations of teaching and learning programs throughout the country. He is currently the principal investigator on an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) meta-analysis that explores sources of heterogeneity in mathematics intervention effects. He is also a co-principal investigator of an IES methods training institute for advanced meta-analysis. He has extensive training in quantitative methods focusing on contemporary measurement theory, meta-analysis, and experimental and quasi-experimental designs. His recent publications include articles in Educational Researcher, Research Synthesis Methods, and Review of Research in Education. He received his PhD in quantitative research methodology from Loyola University Chicago.