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Andrew Clarkwest has more than 18 years of experience in workforce policy and evaluation design. He has held lead management and technical roles in many quantitative and mixed-methods studies, including multi-site random assignment evaluations, quasi-experimental impact evaluations, and descriptive studies. He develops evidence to meet the practical needs of program and policy audiences and makes complex research accessible. He has translated research insights through systematic evidence reviews, technical assistance, and easy-to-consume dissemination products.

Hannah Betesh has over a decade of experience designing, managing, and conducting rigorous implementation and impact studies of interventions for low-income workers and families, including programs that address substance use disorder. Betesh’s methodological expertise is in measuring and documenting program implementation to support adoption of evidence-based practices. Her federal clients have included the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

David Kaz, a principal associate in Abt’s Social and Economic Policy Division, has nearly 20 years of experience providing technical assistance, training, research, and policy analysis. He has worked on a wide range of programs and policies that affect low-income populations. He has directed, designed, and conducted both large- and small-scale, multi-faceted technical assistance projects for federal and state agencies and other clients and stakeholders. Clients have included the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services, King County, and the City of Seattle. He has worked on workforce legislation with members of Congress.

The AgResults initiative was created by five donors after the 2010 G20 summit. The donors recognized that their resources alone could not significantly reduce poverty in the world’s poorest countries. They created AgResults to test whether pay-for…

Many young children are overweight or obese, which can lead to poor health outcomes later in life as well as higher health care costs. First 5 LA, an independent county agency that helps prepare children for kindergarten during their first five years,…

Meryl Finkel leads Abt Global’s Housing and Communities Practice, overseeing large-scale housing; community and economic development; and social policy data collection, analysis and technical assistance projects. Clients include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Corporation for National and Community Service, as well as foundations and state and local governments.

MIchelle Wood has more than 30 years of experience managing large-scale national program evaluations and applied social science research. She has managed several national random assignment studies.Wood is the project director for the Social Security Administration’s Benefit Offset National Demonstration Project. She manages a large team, including subcontractors and consultants, to implement and evaluate a $1-for-$2 benefit offset for the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The project scope of work includes designing and executing large-scale participant outreach and recruitment, implementing secure data systems, managing complex data collection, designing a communications strategy, operating a call center, providing training and technical assistance to local agencies, and documenting the results in process, participation, net impact and cost-benefit analyses. 

Allan Porowski joined the Social and Economic Policy Division of Abt Global in 2014 as a principal associate. He is a leading expert in the design, execution and analysis of randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies and national cross-site evaluations of education, health and other social interventions.

Daniel Gubits conducts research in the areas of housing, homelessness, economic self-sufficiency and disability policy. Gubits’ expertise is in econometric modeling, data analysis, and random assignment program evaluation.Gubits serves as the director of analysis for the Family Options Study, conducted for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He is also leading the impact analysis work for the Social Security Administration’s Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND) project. Both of these are random assignment impact evaluations.

Sandra Wilson is an internationally known expert in research synthesis and meta-analysis. She has conducted systematic reviews of educational programs, most notably on school-based violence prevention and high school dropout programs.Prior to joining Abt, Wilson was the associate director of the Peabody Research Institute and a research assistant professor at Vanderbilt University. Wilson led and supported research projects at the Center for Evaluation Research and Methodology at Vanderbilt.