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Our Team
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Katherine Hayes
Director, Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-5153
Dr. Hayes has engaged in District research activities for over 20 years. Trained as an educational anthropologist, her work has focused on bilingual education in early childhood and elementary school, parent involvement of Spanish-speaking families, and the LAUSD School Experience Survey. She has conducted or directed several AERA-award winning evaluations of English learner programs. Currently, she directs the work of research and evaluation staff in the following activities: the selection and continuation of educational products and programs designed to serve low-income students and students of color by conducting mixed-method evaluations; implementing landscape, equity, and root cause analyses and reviewing approximately 150 external research and evaluation projects annually. She is a member of the National Network of Educational Research Practice Partnership (NNERPP) and Research Directors of the Council of Great City Schools.
Kathy holds a Ph.D. in Qualitative Research Methods from UCLA.
Timea (Timi) Farkas
Program Evaluation and Research Coordinator
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-8397
Timi is passionate about using mixed-methods research to inform education policy and practice and advance equity for historically underserved students. In her position as Program Evaluation and Research Coordinator at LAUSD’s Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch, she leads several projects including the evaluation of the Master Plan for English Learners and Standard English Learners; and the evaluation of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. In her work, she draws on her extensive methodological experience with large datasets, advanced quantitative methods, survey methods, classroom observations, and in-depth interviews. In addition, her work is guided by her expertise in developmental psychology and English Learner education. Timi was born in Romania and, at age nine, immigrated to the U.S. with her family, with whom she speaks Hungarian. When she is not conducting research, she enjoys spending time with cats, dogs, horses, and her favorite humans.
Timi has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Octavio Pescador
Program Evaluation and Research Coordinator
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-4861
Dr. Pescador coordinates a team of research analysts conducting mixed-method formative evaluations and other research projects across LAUSD divisions and departments. Over the past decade, Octavio has collaborated in research projects on early childhood education at the federal, state and county levels. He is a co-founder of the UCLA Paulo Freire Institute at the School of Education and Information and has taught education and social sciences courses at domestic and international higher education institutions. Dr. Pescador has worked extensively with Angeleno students and community-based organizations in civic engagement projects and served as an international development consultant. His international work has focused on early grade reading project implementation and evaluation in crisis and conflict areas.
In his position as Program Evaluation and Research Coordinator at LAUSD's Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch, he manages several projects including the Cohort 1 Short Term Evaluation of Community Schools; Resource and Program Landscape Analysis Social Emotional Learning and Wellness program; and Monitoring the 2022-2026 LAUSD Strategic Plan.
Octavio holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Education from UCLA.
Emilio Chavez Herrerias
Strategic Data Analyst
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-2453
Emilio has 20 years of experience as an applied data analyst and policy researcher in education and international development. This includes extensive work assembling, cleaning, and analyzing large datasets using STATA and other software; using statistical models for estimating parameters in different populations; designing and implementing surveys; analyzing educational achievement and performance trends; evaluating the implementation and impacts of social programs and interventions; and managing or contributing to systematic reviews of evidence on the effectiveness of various interventions in US public schools. He holds graduate degrees in policy analysis and international education policy (Harvard & Pardee RAND), and a bachelor’s in political science (CIDE, Mexico).
Neal Lalwani
Senior Educational Research Analyst
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-6967
Dr. Neal Lalwani is a social psychologist who has been with the LAUSD since 2001. Co-author of the book, Self-Awareness & Causal Attribution: A Dual-Systems Theory (2012) which presented a new theory of how self-awareness affects thought, feeling, and action. His former LAUSD projects included absence management, seismic mitigation, and the online field trip system. His current research projects with the SD&E branch include coordinating Verizon innovation studies and exploring cross-departmental perspectives on social emotional learning.
Neal has a Ph.D. in Social psychology from the University of Southern California.
Britney Wise
Senior Educational Research Analyst
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-4139
As a member of the Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch, Britney led the effort to evaluate the Humanizing Education for Equitable Transformation (HEET) initiative. She has also supported several other projects, such as, the evaluation of the Master Plan for English Learners and Standard English Learners and the effort to monitor the implementation of the L.A. Unified Strategic Plan.
Prior to joining the Branch, Britney worked for the Independent Analysis Unit, a team that conducts research for the L.A. Unified Board of Education to help facilitate data-driven decision making. During that time, Britney produced several reports covering a wide variety of topics from school safety to dual language program implementation.
Britney has a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Southern California.
Jessica Bogner
Senior Educational Research Analyst
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-2518
Trained in program evaluation and social science research and statistics, Ms. Bogner has worked with LEAs, districts, and universities across California to evaluate STEM Professional Development, after-school, pre-teacher training, and justice-involved populations. She has experience working with organizations in data capacity building, creating and managing complex systems for participant follow-up, research requests, and developing a customized database with external technology partners. Ms. Bogner utilizes a mixed methods approach with experience in qualitative (focus groups, interviews and observations), quantitative (regression, ANOVA, repeated measures MANOVA) and survey development. Current projects in LAUSD with SD&E are Title I SPSA Evaluations, Partnership Schools (PLAS), and organizing the Equity Analysis for the 100-day plan.
Jessica has an MFA in Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University and a BFA in Graphic Design from Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
Bios Coming Soon
Maryam Kakar
Educational Research Analyst
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-5536
Carolin Alexander
Senior Office Technician
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-4704
Urzula Pacheco
Senior Office Technician
Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
Phone: 213-241-8261
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Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch
333 S. Beaudry Ave 16th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213-241-4100
