Social science to support your mission – in learning, experiences, and beyond.

Dolly has a strong track record in the study of informal learning and as an applied social scientist and museum professional. In her project work, Dolly frequently collaborates with teams to incorporate meaningful, end-to-end planning and measurement processes that meet the demands of real-life practice. She specializes in developing context-sensitive research and evaluation methods that incorporate play and experience design into the process of data collection, and she loves helping teams “make it work” when it comes to systematically gathering information in complex settings where visitor experience is a high priority. Dolly is also particularly skilled in exhibit evaluation, facilitation, and communicating study findings, and she has co-led several federally funded projects, including the NSF-funded projects WaterMarks (Co-PI, AISL #2115637) and Building Supports (Co-PI, AISL #2215274) and the IMLS-funded Visitor Experience Preferences and the Whole Visit research study (PI, National Leadership Grant MG-251610-OMS-22). Her current research interests include interactive design for research experiences, cultural alignment in museum experiences, and the role of cultural and social capital in informal learning. Her academic training includes a master’s degree in Museum Studies and a master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology. Her hobbies include crafting and mending with textiles, making zines, and playing board games.

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Justin has nearly 15 years of experience in research and evaluation, having worked with development corporations in Oregon, art museums in Colorado, nature centers in Illinois, science centers in Missouri, zoos in Pennsylvania, education nonprofits in Massachusetts, and dozens of organizations in between. He brings strength in mixed-methods study design, project management, data analysis, spatial analysis, data visualization, and graphic design, and he has co-led several federally-funded projects, including the NSF-funded projects Convergent Learning from Divergent Perspectives (Co-PI, AISL #1811119) and Sound Travels (Co-PI, AISL #2215101) and the IMLS-funded Visitor Experience Preferences and the Whole Visit research study (Co-PI, National Leadership Grant MG-251610-OMS-22). He is particularly excited by projects that involve studying visitor/customer experiences, studying physical spaces, mapping systems, programming dashboards, making causal inferences, and bringing together a wide variety of perspectives. Justin’s formal training started in engineering and design at Stanford University (BSE) and the University of Cambridge (MPhil) and landed in urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan (MUP, Ph.D.), but he delights in continuous learning from the new ideas and challenges research collaborations bring. Justin’s personal interests include architecture, design, classical music, singing, commercial aviation, and professional basketball.

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Jessie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and currently manages the business systems and operations of the Center for Research and Evaluation. As Sponsored Programs Officer, she also manages all federal grant administration for COSI and frequently supports project teams in thinking through the complexities of regulatory compliance. As our team member with the longest tenure at COSI, Jessie brings a wealth of practical experience in museum education, with particular expertise in interactive video programming. In her current role, Jessie gives regular, focused attention to new developments in the grants landscape and helps our team implement projects effectively and responsively. Together, these strengths help Jessie keep CRE systems grounded in real-world needs and supported by current tools. Jessie also loves to read, and she keeps a personal goal of reading a new book every week.

Gary has over 25 years of experience designing, managing, and conducting research and program evaluation in the areas of non-profit social services, state government, and formal and informal education and learning environments. He holds a doctorate in Education Research and Evaluation, a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel, and a Bachelor of Science degree in English Education. With his background in education, Gary often works at the intersection of formal and informal learning, and some of his most recent research and program evaluation work has focused on STEM development in rural areas, workforce development, professional development for educators. Gary also loves working with qualitative data, whether gathering it through interviews or turning it into compelling stories for our clients. In both personal and professional life, Gary has a strong interest in animal welfare, and he is a passionate advocate for animals. Outside of work, he has contributed many years of volunteer service to supporting the care and adoption of cats.

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Deborah has over 25 years of program evaluation and research experience, with expertise in Self-Determination Theory and consistent focus on informal education, youth development, and collaborative learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Family Science and Program Evaluation from The Ohio State University. With the National Museum of Natural History’s Office of Education, Outreach, and Visitor Experience (NSF #2039209), she led the creation of the Informal STEM Education Evaluation (ISEE) system, a program planning and evaluation system that balances program-specific customization with cross-program standardization. On Roads Taken (Principal Investigator, NSF AISL #1906396), she worked with six organizations to explore long term effects of STEM youth programming. In Foundations & Bridges (Principal Investigator, IMLS National Leadership Grant #MG-257594-OMS-25), she is leading a field-wide needs assessment about the collaborative study of intensive STEM programs for youth. Deborah is also leading a long-term follow-up study of Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy's teen program alumni, and she created the questionnaire for the Exploratorium's Explainer follow-up study. As a methodologist, Deborah has published on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, retrospective pre/post-tests, systems-thinking approaches to theory-based program evaluation, goal-attainment scaling, and contribution analysis. Deborah loves new ways of seeing and brings unique insights from experiences as a women’s healthcare specialist and as a performing artist. She self-identifies as a lovable curmudgeon.

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Laura holds a B.A. in History from the University of Illinois Springfield and an M.A. in Museum Studies from Indiana University-Indianapolis. Prior to joining CRE, she worked as an audience research associate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and evaluation specialist at the Detroit Zoological Society. Since joining CRE in 2021, Laura has contributed to the research and evaluation teams of several federally funded projects, and she co-led the IMLS-funded Visitor Experience Preferences and the Whole Visit research study (Co-PI, National Leadership Grant MG-251610-OMS-22). She has also served as project director on evaluation studies with partners like the Nashville Zoo and National WWII Museum, and she has played an active role in developing the Informal STEM Education Evaluation (ISEE) system, a tool for systematic but customized planning and evaluation of STEM learning programs. Laura enjoys thinking of creative ways to collect data and share findings, and she has particular interest in the importance of connecting museums’ interpretive goals to visitors’ own goals for learning and leisure. Her current research interests include applications of user experience lenses to visitor studies, and she is always excited for opportunities to collaborate on zoo-based projects, exhibit evaluation, formative evaluation, and prototyping. Outside of work, Laura is an avid knitter and a hockey fan.

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