Early Childhood Education Experts

Kerry Hofer has 20 years of experience conducting rigorous research in early childhood settings. She has in-depth knowledge of large-scale childcare programs, including public state-run prekindergarten programs and Head Start/Early Head Start, as well as more informal care settings.  She has worked with early educational programs and staff across the country.  Kerry has been a key member on several large-scale projects funded by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health, primarily focusing on analytic techniques with quantitative data. The majority of her research involves rigorous quantitative evaluations of early educational programs and practices targeted at children from impoverished families, focusing on program impact and model delivery. At Abt, she is directing the Early Learning Study @ Harvard (ELS@H), a longitudinal study following a state-representative sample of young children, and is supporting New Profit and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care’s development of a quality improvement initiative focused on program leader support. Prior to joining Abt, she was a Senior Associate at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody Research Institute. There, she worked on several large-scale federally funded grant projects focused on early education initiative evaluations, including serving as the Lead Analyst on the Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program evaluation, the only randomized control trial of a scaled-up state-funded pre-k program. Visit Kerry's full bio.

Adele Robinson is a nationally recognized policy advisor on complex legislation, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, Higher Education, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Child Nutrition, and other initiatives. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she helped write the 2016 regulations for the Child Care and Development Fund, and the HHS guidance statement on early childhood career pathways, and collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education on guidance and reports to Congress. In addition to federal advocacy, she has assisted states and local stakeholders with implementation and provided strategic advising. She led the public policy work at the National Association for the Education of Young Children for 15 years and, prior to that, she worked in public policy at the National Education Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and the U.S. Senate. Visit Adele's full bio.

Suzanne Gibbons has 20 years of experience improving outcomes for children and families through early education and care. She has led professional development efforts to strengthen the workforce, designed an early literacy coaching program for Pre-K teachers, and managed strategic initiatives to align programs and services for children from birth through third grade. Suzanne managed a team at the Region 1 Office of Head Start, facilitating data-informed decisions and responsive solutions for daily operations. In addition to her roles in government, nonprofit, and research organizations, she has served as a board member of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and other local and regional early education advisory councils. At Abt, Suzanne contributes to projects ranging from impact evaluation studies to state policy strategic consulting.

Katie Murphy has 10 years of experience in conducting early childhood and elementary education research and evaluations. Ms. Murphy has worked extensively with state agencies, universities, and non-profit organizations to design and carry out research and evaluation projects of varying sizes and scopes. She is a certified CLASS Pre-K Trainer and also has significant experience training and overseeing large-scale data collection efforts using the Child Observation in Preschool/ Teacher Observation in Preschool (COP/TOP), Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R), Woodcock Johnson Standardized Tests of Achievement, and other standardized classroom observation and direct child assessment measures. Murphy is currently the Project Director of Abt’s evaluation of the New Hampshire Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five and the Deputy Project Director of the Early Learning Study @ Harvard, a longitudinal study following a state-representative sample of young children.

Dr. Kaity Mumma has seven years of experience contributing to research design and data analysis and reporting. Her research focuses on investigating the long-term effects of attending various types of early childhood education, evaluating school quality, and addressing inequities in public education. Several of her current roles at Abt Global include Deputy Project Director with the non-profit Out Teach, contributing to the development of evaluation plans and data management plans; as a Screening Lead on the Prevention Services Clearinghouse, providing team management, quality control, and technical writing for public-facing documents; and as an Observer Team Lead for the Massachusetts Early Childhood Support Organization (ECSO), managing a team of classroom observers. She is a certified Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) observer, recently co-authored a guide on visualizing program theories, and is one of the friendly faces behind the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse Contractor Help Desk. Prior to joining Abt, she graduated with her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University.

Diane Paulsell is an applied social scientist with more than 20 years of experience designing, conducting, and overseeing mixed-methods, policy-focused research, including national multi-site studies. Her areas of expertise range from ECE to parenting, family engagement, youth development and family supportive policies and programs, including nutrition. Paulsell comes to Abt from Mathematica, where she led research and evaluation projects for federal, international, and foundation clients and played a lead role in staff development and recruitment and business development. She also advised decision makers (foundations, federal, state and local leaders, and program managers) on the use of evidence to improve early childhood and family support programs and systems. She co-created program logic models and theory of change frameworks with funders and stakeholders to guide program improvement and research and evaluation planning. Visit Diane's full bio.