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Abt’s René Nutter talks with Tyra Shackleford, Chickasaw Nation’s Summer EBT Manager, about what it takes for a successful Summer EBT implementation.

In this podcast, Abt’s Ginger Pryor and Whitney Rostad explain how child welfare solutions can emerge from disaggregated data, community input, and silo-busting collaborations.

Join Abt for the nationwide discussion on hunger, food insecurity, summer nutrition  programs and CACFP at #NCNC24.

Dr. Jessica Thornton Walker is an accomplished researcher and the leader of Abt’s quantitative methods team who brings 20 years of experience designing and implementing policy-relevant research. She is a recognized expert in large-scale, multi-site evaluations to assess the impacts of social policies and programs in housing and homelessness, child welfare, adolescent risk-taking behaviors, and substance use.In her role as the Quantitative Methods Lead, Dr. Walker is responsible for the management, staffing, budgeting, solutioning, and strategy that guides the work of 120 quantitative research staff and ensures Abt provides high-quality technical delivery and innovative solutions tailored to clients.

Hanna Kovalova is a program manager with 15 years of experience managing humanitarian aid and development programs in Ukraine, with a recent focus on the eastern part of the country ravaged by the war with Russia. She has worked with international organizations, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations, as well as social enterprises. Kovalova’s work with vulnerable populations has centered around gender equality, non-discrimination, conflict sensitivity, and social inclusion. She has extensive experience with monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning approaches; program management; and communication strategies in public health, mental health, and community stabilisation.

Shriya Kalavapudi brings 11 years of experience in dissemination and communication planning and strategy. She has experience with social media management, web and social media analytics, and content development. She also has expertise in communications products and creative materials development, including newsletters, reports, briefs, journal articles, blogs, videos, and infographics. In addition, she has experience with outreach and dissemination, primarily in the federal healthcare space. Kalavapudi translates complex information (health information, data, and research) for audiences of various technical knowledge, including policymakers and practitioners.

Dr. Heinrich Hock is an economist with 19 years of experience conducting research on labor, education, disability employment, and social insurance. His work focuses on producing results that help policymakers and program staff understand outcomes for priority populations and research-based options for improving outcomes. He develops rigorous and feasible plans for research designs, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings. Hock has led work on over a dozen labor-related projects for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other funders to assess the outcomes for groups such as dislocated workers, youth and adult jobseekers with disabilities, and veterans, among other groups. Hock also has played a key role in U.S. Department of Education (ED) studies to identify solutions for improving career outcomes among special education and adult education participants.