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Jennifer S. Riggs, Ph.D., brings her extensive research, policy, and nursing experience to improve care for patients, especially older adults. Her clinical area of expertise is Medicare-certified home health and home and community-based care for adults and older adults with multiple co-occurring chronic conditions and complex care coordination needs.

Teresa Mota, BSN, RN is an Associate/Nurse Researcher and a sought-after clinical researcher on federal and state projects emphasizing aging, long-term care, and improving the care experience. Mota has an extensive clinical and health services research background in geriatric nursing, and she specializes in post-acute care, quality improvement (QI) and supporting community-based providers and stakeholders to assist them in the identification of best-practices, develop resources and tools, communications, and implementation of QI initiatives. Mota also participates in data collection, measurement, analysis, and reporting related to these programs.

Matthew Sweeney leads business development and account management for Abt’s portfolio of work at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). With more than 20 years of healthcare experience partnering with federal agencies, small businesses, and the private sector, Sweeney has led large research and operational projects focused on various dimensions of alternative payment models, including:  implementing and validating quality measures, program support for hospital pay-for-performance programs, and advising clients on the design and refinement of their value-based purchasing arrangements.

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.

Brian Chirwa is an agricultural and environmental scientist with over three decades worth of experience working on projects funded by the World Bank, the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the Environmental Council of Zambia, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He brings 18 years’ experience on PMI-funded projects focused on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and has provided technical leadership, assistance, and high-level management for country-wide Zambian IRS and ITN campaigns. Brian also has three decades' worth of experience designing environmental information systems (EIS) for public organizations.

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.

Benny Kil is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified scrum master (CSM) with over 15 years of project and product management experience—working in business analysis and project delivery in the federal, state, and commercial areas with a focus on technology and digital processes. He has experience in leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver client requirements using agile methodologies (scrum and kanban). 

Laura Blake has more than 20 years of experience in leading scientific programs and research in the environmental science and policy domain. She has deep expertise in surface water quality restoration and protection and has spent her career designing and implementing scientific studies to support efforts to protect human health and aquatic environments. She has significant knowledge of Clean Water Act rules and regulations and has extensive experience supporting federal and state regulatory programs with implementation of and compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.

Kate Stillman is a technical leader with more than 25 years of experience in program design, systems thinking, evidence generation and use, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and project management. She has deep experience in global development with specialties in health systems strengthening, infectious and vector-borne diseases, maternal and child health, and sustainability. She drives Abt’s efforts to strengthen the generation, management, and use of high-quality data to inform decisions and improve program quality.