Spending the first part of her life in the Wild West of Colorado, Venessa earned a BA in Media Arts and Animation where she went on to be a Creative Director and Project Manager for multiple Denver advertising and marketing firms. While Venessa loved the beautiful Rocky Mountains, she did not love the snow, and made the move to New Orleans in 2015. After taking an abrupt left turn into an accounting career soon after arriving in NOLA, she has since received her Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of New Orleans and has worked in a variety of industries around the Greater New Orleans area. Her desire to work with public policy and community-based organizations brought her to PRG in early 2024. In her free time, Venessa loves to hang with her dog Kit, going out dancing to live music, baking, and making multiple costumes for Mardi Gras every year.

Kelly joined PRG in 2016 after receiving her BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master’s in Public Health at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Her primary focus at PRG has been managing the rigorous evaluation of school-based interventions across several states, including North Carolina (her home state), New York, Maryland, and New Jersey. She is currently translating her experience with youth-based research to work on projects involving youth with LGBTQ identities and youth in the juvenile justice system. In her free time, she is dancing whenever possible, cheering on UNC’s basketball team with sometimes scary intensity, and hanging out with her pup, Babs.

As a proud West Virginia native, Sabrina received her bachelor's degree in English and education, as well as a minor in psychology, from Marshall University (2021). After three years of teaching, she realized that she wanted to focus her career path elsewhere. PRG has given her the opportunity to start her career as study coordinator with a teen pregnancy prevention research project which uses motivational interviewing strategies. During her free time, Sabrina loves to travel and has been to 8 countries, which has given her the opportunity to find a love for travel photography. She also enjoys analyzing literature, spending time with friends, and all things spooky.

Shara grew up in Baton Rouge and received her BA in English from Tuskegee University. After college, she moved to California, where she attended law school and received her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. She most recently received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Fiction) from Rutgers University. Her work at PRG focuses on grant writing and project development. She enjoys writing fiction and playing fetch with her dog.

Click here for Shara's resumé

A native of rural upstate New York, Hilary has lived in New Orleans since 2007 and joined PRG in 2009. She received her BA in art history from Tulane University (2001) and her MPH, with a concentration in health education and communication, from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (2009). As a Senior Research Analyst, she oversees all research analysts and assistants, ensuring quality and consistency of research plans and protocols for multiple evaluation projects, including ongoing RCTs investigating the efficacy of teen pregnancy prevention interventions (her primary area of interest). She has experience in grant writing, designing research protocols and data collection instruments, and developing data collection protocols and training materials. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Hilary lived in NYC for five years, working for a number of organizations, including the Greater New York Hospital Association Foundation’s Health Information Tool for Empowerment project. She enjoys spending her free time being outside walking and hiking as much as possible, partaking in the many festivals and live music options available in this spirited city, and traveling far and wide to experience new people and places.

Click here for Hilary's resumé

Hailing from the cornfields of Iowa, Gretchen was seeking a change of pace when she chose to attend graduate school in New Orleans, a city she fell in love with when visiting as an undergraduate at Luther College (BA, Nursing, 2011). After graduating from Tulane (MPH, 2016) she started her first period of work at PRG where she managed studies in reproductive health and elementary education. After the birth of her daughter in 2022, Gretchen took some time off and is now delighted to return to her PRG family and work. She now works from Baltimore where she is assisted by a dog who has been described as “having the most pathos of any creature on earth” and a cat who is never in the right place at the right time. In her free time, Gretchen enjoys cooking, baking, and exerting as much organization and order as possible into life with a toddler (success is limited).

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ashley came to New Orleans to get her bachelor’s from Tulane University. She graduated with a degree in Economics and International Development, a Spanish minor, and a strong desire to stay in the city. While in school, she interned with Eden House and the New Orleans Department of Commerce and worked on various socioeconomic research projects. This included a report on how U.S. school systems responded to COVID 19 and a study on gender and racial discrimination in mental health care access. Her interest in these projects led her to PRG. Outside of PRG, Ashley enjoys weekend camping trips, live music, bird photography, and teaching her cat Remington new tricks.

Chelsea is a Mississippi native and received her BS in Entertainment Industry Management from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2012. Immediately after graduation, Chelsea managed the box office at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg, MS for two years before opting for a change of scenery and moving to the New Orleans area. After several years of affirmative action compliance consulting and even an apprenticeship at a local vegetable farm, Chelsea can fully express her love of organizing and supporting in her role as the Administrative Assistant. When she is not at the office, Chelsea can be found hand embroidering, listening to music and podcasts, and growing whatever tasty vegetable is in season.

Caroline is a proud native of south Louisiana. She received her BA in International Studies and Political Science from Louisiana State University in 2012 and her MPH from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – New Orleans School of Public Health in 2019. Her interests in various social issues and policies, coupled with her interest in program evaluation, led her to PRG, where she has worked since 2019. At PRG, Caroline has worked on a variety of projects related to substance use, community development, labor and workforce development, housing, public health, and environmental issues. She also serves as a member of PRG’s Project Development team. When not at her desk, she enjoys traveling and lounging near bodies of water (pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, what have you), preferably with a book in hand.

Gaby is a San Diego native and received her bachelor's degree in Health Science with a concentration in Psychology and a minor in Spanish from San Jose State University (2016). Gaby has primarily worked in customer service for over 10 years with a concentration in health care. Her first job after college was working at UCSD hospital serving meals to patients on therapeutic diets. Her last role entailed working with doctors and insurance companies to provide insulin pump therapy to people living with diabetes. She is now a Study Coordinator at PRG focusing on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention in San Diego. Gaby enjoys watching sports and finding dog-friendly locations around San Diego to spoil her two dogs, Gooby and Moose.

Catie never anticipated developing roots in the South, but a military move to Mississippi with her significant other led her to the Gulf Coast from 2011 to 2014 where she acquired a love for alligator sausage and swamp rats. Catie worked with PRG during this period as a Research Analyst. In mid-2014, Catie moved to Seattle and worked first as a Program Manager and then as the Associate Director for Health Alliance International’s primary health care implementation and research projects in Mozambique. Catie couldn’t stay away from PRG and came back as a Lead Research Analyst in January 2017. She now works as a Senior Research Analyst overseeing study design, data analysis, and reporting for PRG’s public health evaluations and research, working under the Lead Senior Research Analyst. Catie has a BA in International Affairs from the George Washington University and an MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Washington. When not at her computer, you will find Catie outside with her two kiddos, dog, and husband. She loves anything that takes place under blue skies, notably biking, camping, skiing, and yoga.

Click here for Catie's resumé

Originally trained in economics, Cong found her passion for policy research during her graduate study at the University of San Francisco (USF), where she learned how policies can be harnessed to empower vulnerable populations to break from cycles of poverty. After obtaining her MA from USF (2012), Cong decided to pursue her PhD in the discipline of political science with the focus on public policy and quantitative methods. Cong became a policy researcher at the University of Houston after getting her PhD there in 2018, employing mixed methods to address pressing economic and social issues and support policy decision-making at the local level. Cong joined PRG in July 2020. As a Lead Research Analyst at PRG, Cong conducts scientific research and evaluation for several workforce-focused projects funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and works across several other PRG projects to study public health and education programs/interventions using randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental design methods. Besides her high enthusiasm for data analysis, Cong enjoys cooking, hiking, and reading design and fashion blogs.

After completing a BA in Sociology/Linguistics, Lynne and her future husband set off from her hometown of Victoria, BC, Canada for Louisiana State University in a twenty-year-old VW van, without air conditioning. She completed her MA in organizational communication with characteristic promptness, and then decamped for a much smaller Manhattan apartment with a much-loved but poorly behaved former street dog. Three years later she took a one-year appointment in Rome, Italy with a United Nations Organization, joined by her soon-to-be husband and the former street dog. After that, PRG seemed like the obvious choice. As one of the founding partners and the Director of Projects, Lynne works to keep the trains running on-time and to ensure excellence. She enjoys being active, whether running, cycling, yoga or weight lifting. She loves her New Orleans neighborhood and has, for the past ten years, spent much of her spare time completing a one-year renovation of her century-old New Orleans home.

Click here for Lynne's resumé

Eric is a founding partner and the Director of Research at The Policy & Research Group. He met his future wife and partner, Lynne, on a sailboat in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Central America. Thanks to his tenacity, and a hurricane at sea, she eventually agreed to marry him. Eric received an MMC and a PhD in political communications from LSU. In between, he worked for The New York Times and then briefly lived in Rome, where he started to really like pizza. An inveterate interdisciplinarian, Eric is motivated by empirical questions related to public policy and public affairs – he has published research in The Policy Studies Journal, Political Behavior, the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, Foreign Affairs, and the American Journal of Health Behavior, among others. Recently, he has led studies that investigate the impact of innovative programs on public health and academic outcomes. When he isn’t preoccupied with questions of research design and analytic methods, Eric fixates on things related to point breaks, watts per kilogram, Shimano groupsets, narrative structure, and any type of boat. He is an enthusiastic vegan cook.

Click here for Eric's resumé

Jada Jones, a native of South Louisiana, received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Public Health in 2022 and a Master's degree in Behavioral Health from Tulane University in 2023. Prior to joining PRG, Jada served as a Tulane graduate assistant and worked as a registered line technician at an autism clinic, where she developed a passion for evidence-based interventions. At PRG, Jada's work focuses on teen pregnancy prevention and evaluating evidence-based home visiting programs in the aftermath of public health emergencies. In her spare time, Jada enjoys exploring New Orleans's culinary scene, listening to podcasts, and unwinding at the beach.

Alice grew up in a vineyard region north of Lyon (France) and later moved to Strasbourg to pursue studies in sociology, public policy, and political science. Alice fell in love with New Orleans during a year-long exchange program in Baton Rouge for her studies and decided to return to Louisiana after completing her academic journey. She earned her master’s degree in public policy and Sociology, with her thesis focusing on gender identities within radical political movements. Post-graduation, she briefly relocated to Paris to evaluate an environmental education policy at the Académie du Climat. This experience deepened her commitment to impactful research in education, youth, and public health, ultimately guiding her to PRG. Beyond her professional pursuits, Alice indulges in her love for reading modern literature, baking bread, and immersing herself in the vibrant cultural environment of the city.

Carolyn received her BA in Spanish and teaching certificates in K-12 Spanish and English for non-native speakers from the University of Iowa in 2012 and her MSc in disaster resilience leadership from Tulane University School of Social Work in 2017. Her experience at PRG includes working in partnership with a New Orleans-based substance use treatment center to evaluate programs in offender re-entry, HIV prevention, and opioid overdose treatment and managing an RCT evaluating a one-to-one mentoring program for youth at-risk of dropping out of high school. As the production manager, Carolyn oversees the reporting and production process and ensures the quality of PRG communications. She has extensive experience managing project and partner relationships, developing data collection materials and protocols, building partner capacity for evaluation, managing in-person and virtual data collection and monitoring, and preparing reports. Outside of the office, you can find her at City Park with her pup, throwing herself into a DIY project, or tending to her aspirational jungle of houseplants.

Jordan earned her BA and MA in English Literature and Linguistics from Mississippi State University. During and after her studies, she gained professional experience as a linguistics researcher and English composition instructor, as well as an ESL instructor for English language learners. At PRG, Jordan manages all operational and business affairs, and as a part of PRG’s Project Development team, she contributes to the writing of grant applications and seeks out new grant-funded research opportunities for PRG. Outside of PRG, Jordan is a plant enthusiast, bookworm, dabbling yogi, and live music fan. She’s also got a deep love and devotion for nearly all animals and pizza.

Click here for Jordan's resumé

Katie discovered her passion for the social sciences in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia as a JMU Duke, obtaining a BA in Psychology and Sociology in 2009. After relocating to New Orleans and working in the mental health field, she went on to obtain a Master of Social Work (2012) and Master of Public Health (2013) from Tulane University, where she developed a penchant for research and evaluation. Bringing this multi-disciplinary perspective, Katie joined PRG as a Research Intern in 2014, contributing to projects focusing on adolescent, behavioral, and public health. As a Senior Research Analyst, Katie primarily works on study design, instrument development, analysis, and reporting for several school-based randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Aside from her abnormally high enthusiasm for Stata, Katie also enjoys gardening, hiking, reading, and working on her baking skills.

Click here for Katie's resumé

Jeremy was born and raised in southern California with twin obsessions of sports and punk rock. He graduated from UCLA with a BA in History in 2012 and a deep interest in how societies respond to conflict. Jeremy then moved to New Orleans where he worked as an elementary educator and met his future wife. He moved to Chicago in 2016 to pursue a PhD in Sociology at Northwestern University. For his doctoral research, he conducted a qualitative study of post-conflict identity and collective memory in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Jeremy joined PRG in 2022, where he works on a variety of projects related to employment and education. When he’s not working, Jeremy likes to cook, travel, and cheer on his adopted Saints and Pelicans.

Marina grew up in Brunswick, ME, and received her BA in biology and sociology from Bowdoin College in 2020. In 2022, she completed her Master of Science in Clinical Research with a focus on international health at the University of Barcelona. Marina works at PRG as a Research Analyst on various research projects. In her free time, Marina loves listening to podcasts and spending time outdoors swimming, paddle boarding, and hiking with her dog on the coast of Maine.

Elyse moved to New Orleans in 2013 to study food systems and community health at Tulane University. Over the next two years, she worked on food access advocacy, nutrition research, and violence prevention research, earning her MPH in 2015. At PRG, Elyse specializes in qualitative research and editing. She also oversees the evaluation of an afterschool mentoring program in Baton Rouge and a randomized controlled trial to study the impacts of an innovative online program for parenting teens. Outside of PRG, Elyse is into gardening, cooking, and exploring Louisiana with her pup Shakey.

Jordyn grew up in the Chicago area and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she received her bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in history in 2023. While in school, she interned at the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research for a project focused on examining how cooperative interactions and their outcomes influence future cooperation, battle dynamics, and prospects for sustainable peace in civil wars. This perspective of cooperation in civil conflict inspired her to also apply cooperative efforts locally by interning for a grassroots primary campaign in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district which worked to inform constituents on policy issues surrounding topics such as climate change, abortion, and recent redistricting events. She is thrilled to now be contributing to dynamic education and public health research as a Research Coordinator at PRG. In her free time, she enjoys nature walks, thrifting, painting, and seeing live music with friends.

A native of San Diego, Melissa moved to New Mexico in 2004, where she received a BS and MPH, specializing in community health education, from New Mexico State University. In 2015 Melissa moved to the four corners area of New Mexico to work as a counselor and educator in the field of heath science. With an ever-growing desire to foster the development and implementation of public health programing within her community, Melissa joined PRG in 2017. As a Research Analyst at PRG, Melissa is working with a trauma informed approach to teen pregnancy prevention among youth within the juvenile justice system. In her time outside PRG, Melissa is an avid runner, training for the next marathon, with her three dogs by her side. When not outdoors enjoying the beauty of the Southwest, she is at home working on her next DIY or gardening project.

Adela grew up on the bayou in New Iberia, Louisiana. She received her BA in Global Studies and French from UNC Chapel Hill in 2017. After living out west for a few years, she returned to Louisiana to pursue her Master of Public Health in Nutrition at Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, graduating in 2023. During her time at Tulane, she was a research assistant for a community based participatory research project with a local non-profit organization, as well as a violence prevention research study. Adela works at PRG as a Research Analyst on various projects. In her free time, Adela loves all outdoor activities, from kayaking on the bayou to getting her hands dirty on a vegetable farm. She also loves to speak in French with anyone that she can (she is from south Louisiana after all!) and dancing to all music.

Ayla Oden joined PRG in 2023 after receiving her PhD in Media and Public Affairs from the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. There, she published work on political communication in the journals Public Opinion Quarterly, Social Media & Society, the International Journal of Communication, among others. Her work at PRG focuses on research and evaluation for projects related to behavioral health. She loves to travel and has so far visited over 30 countries across six continents. Back in Baton Rouge, she enjoys reading thrillers late at night, walking by the lakes with her dog Pawter, and obsessively checking Google Flights.

A native of South Louisiana, Alethia joined the PRG team in the New Orleans office in 2012. During her time as a social work graduate student at Louisiana State University (2012), she cultivated her interest in evaluation as a means of creating better social policies for disadvantaged populations. Alethia is currently the Senior Research Analyst of the Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Innovation and Impact Network (JJIIN), funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs through the TPP Innovation and Impact Networks grant. JJIIN is a multi-state network project involving the implementation and evaluation of 7 new trauma-informed teen pregnancy prevention interventions designed for juvenile justice-involved youth. Prior to leading the JJIIN project, Alethia worked on the evaluations of several behavioral interventions targeting youth, including three randomized-controlled trials that were testing the effectiveness of teen pregnancy prevention programs in various settings across the country. When she’s not squinting at her computer, Alethia spends her time running after her wonderful son and daughter, cooking Cajun cuisine, and enjoying lazy afternoons under the shade of an oak tree.

Click here for Alethia's resumé

A Virginia native, Noor quickly fell in love with the incredible people, food, and music in New Orleans and happily joined the PRG team in 2016. At PRG, Noor leads several public health and adolescent health-focused randomized controlled trials and needs assessments. Noor holds a BA in Government, an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and is currently working on her Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Noor worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on research related to the Affordable Care Act and transparency in industry payments to physicians. Outside of PRG, Noor enjoys going on adventures, traveling, kayaking, and hanging out with each and every PRG dog.

A native Texan, Allison was brought to New Orleans in 2022 to complete her MPH at Tulane University and immediately fell in love with everything city has to offer. She focused on international health throughout her studies and was introduced to rigorous evaluation study designs through her internship focusing on HIV and COVID related programming in Cape Town, South Africa. At PRG, she assists on multiple teen pregnancy prevention and adolescent risk reduction programs spanning throughout the United States. Outside of PRG, Allison enjoys all things fitness related and is a registered yoga instructor. In her free time, you can usually find her exploring the New Orleans food scene, avidly cheering for her favorite sports teams, and likely planning her next international adventure (19 countries and counting so far)!

A lifelong mountaineer, Nick grew up in Bluefield, WV. In 2018, he attended Marshall University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2022, Nick moved to Morgantown, WV to work with RAMP LLC., a political canvassing company that works with local and state government candidates to distribute candidate information and collect voter data. In 2024, Nick began working as a Study Coordinator for PRG in West Virginia, focusing on the SHINE study. In his free time, Nick enjoys watching classic cinema, listening to and making music, and spending time with his dog, Maggie.

Teresa received both her BS in Public Health (2013) and her MPH (2015) from Tulane University. While her Master’s studies focused on the management of health systems, she fostered an interest in social policy and programs after working at a local AIDS task force and as a peer health educator for a teen pregnancy prevention project. Currently at PRG, Teresa oversees the evaluations of several SAMHSA-funded projects directed toward expanding access to treatment and prevention of substance use disorders. In this work, she aims to make each evaluation as valuable as possible to each agency and the people they serve. After living in New Orleans for nearly 10 years, she moved to Atlanta in 2020 where she can be found meandering, admiring flowers and trees, and enjoying the company of her extremely vocal cat Prudence.

As a young idealist, Rebekah shipped off to East Timor to work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in health promotion. This work sparked an interest in public health, so upon returning the U.S., she completed a Master of Public Health at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. While at Tulane, Rebekah applied what she was learning in her new job as a Research Assistant at PRG. Now a Senior Research Analyst, Rebekah is the lead of PRG’s Data Management Team, overseeing preparation of quantitative data for analysis and accuracy of data in reporting. Rebekah also oversees PRG’s Workforce & Income Focus Area, studying the impact of various interventions on employment outcomes using RCTs and QEDs. This work currently includes the impact evaluations of the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment Program (RESEA) for multiple states. Rebekah is a member of PRG’s Leadership Team and only slightly less important, the Field Day Committee (pantyhose bowling, anyone?). Rebekah works remotely from the Midwest, where she enjoys eating pizza, reading, channeling her creativity through various art forms, and walking along the wonderous shores of Lake Michigan.

Click here for Rebekah's resumé

Tina is a Louisiana native by way of Alabama. Tina received her BS from the University of Phoenix in Criminal Justice Administration. She has a love for helping and guiding individuals to be their very best. Her expertise is case management, which has allowed her to manage cases from intake to resolution. She is also skilled in fostering positive relationships with clients and colleagues to facilitate effective case outcomes. When not helping others, Tina enjoys time with her children, listening to audio books, watching documentaries, catching up on the latest series, and crafting.

Sarah grew up in California and moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in public health with minors in both international development and environmental science. During her studies, Sarah taught sex education in New Orleans Charter Schools and interned at a local shelter for the unhoused community. She is excited to continue exploring the social and behavioral determinants of health and health equity as Junior Research Analyst at PRG. In her free time, Sarah enjoys traveling, crafting, spending time outdoors, and attending the many festivals and concerts New Orleans has to offer.

Shannielle is based out of Salt Lake City and recently graduated from the University of Utah with two HBS degrees in psychology and family, community, and human development. She completed her honors thesis on the role of connectedness as it relates to flourishing for adolescents of low socioeconomic status using a mixed-methods design. Her passion for research brought her to PRG as a study coordinator. Despite being named after Shaquille O’Neal, Shannielle does not spend her free time breaking backboards. Rather, she spends her free time going on picnics with friends, playing video games, and fantasizing about grad school.

Although posing as a normal human, Sarah has a near extra-terrestrial affinity for Stata and has a deep commitment to using her love of data and statistical analysis to help good programs and policies grow. She also enjoys organizing (things other than her desk), boxed wine, and books where impossible things happen in places that don’t really exist. As Lead Senior Research Analyst at PRG, Sarah oversees research design, data analysis, and reporting, working under the Director of Research. Her academic travels have made her an unwitting expert on all things related to SEC football, with degrees from the University of Tennessee, Ole Miss, and LSU. So, on fall Saturdays, her time is spent either loving or despising nearly every team that plays, which keeps her pretty busy. She is also kept busy by her two children and husband who seem to enjoy nothing more than dropping things on the floor, eating with their hands, and crying at random times.

Click here for Sarah's resumé

Originally from southern Germany, Mo joined PRG in 2024 after moving to New Orleans with their partner. They received their BS in Psychology from Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands), and their Erasmus Mundus MS in Psychology from ISCTE Lisbon (Portugal) and the University of Limerick (Ireland). Mo has gained experience working for a research software provider as well as for the German Federal Agency for Civic Education. At PRG, they are concerned with everything data in their role as a Junior Research Analyst with the Data Management team. Outside of work, Mo can be found perusing antique shops for treasures, spending time with their two cats, and enjoying jazz music somewhere in the city.