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Nicole Keane, MSN, RN, CPHQ has an extensive clinical and research background in healthcare quality improvement, measure development, team-building and formative evaluation in post-acute and primary care settings. Her focus is providing technical assistance to healthcare systems and clinicians to drive quality improvement through learning and implementing the skills of measure development, implementation, benchmarking, analysis, and report writing.

Clark Abt, an engineer, environmentalist, entrepreneur, educator and social scientist, is the founder and past president of Abt Global Inc. He served as Abt’s President from 1965 to 1985, Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1986 to 2005, and was then elected Chairman Emeritus. He is the author of 10 books on social and economic policies and advanced technologies, as well as many articles.Clark Abt was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1929, and came to the United States in 1937. He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a freshman in aeronautical engineering in 1947 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in general engineering in 1951. He then served four months in the Merchant Marine as an ordinary seaman, followed by a year at Johns Hopkins University as an English instructor, obtaining an M.A. from the Department of Writing, Speech and Drama for this master thesis, “A Year of Poems.”

Shelby Hickman is a mixed methods research and evaluation professional with 14 years of experience in program evaluation, training and technical assistance, and analysis of criminal and juvenile justice administrative data. Dr. Hickman has expertise in overseeing studies funded by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services. She has experience in causal inference methods for both random assignment and quasi-experimental designs. Additionally, she is proficient in qualitative methodologies, such as semi-structured interviews, focus groups, cognitive interviews, and observations. Hickman is also an expert in forced labor and human trafficking.

Lauren Pittenger comes to Abt with more than 20 years of experience working in or as a consultant to federal government agencies. She has strong grounding in research and research-based consulting to government clients. She also has extensive experience leading and growing business, managing technical and scientific projects, and coaching and supporting account teams. She has served as a director at Guidehouse, scientific program manager at Booz Allen Hamilton, and lab manager at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network, the Gates Foundation and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.

Eduardo Castellon has two decades of experience helping public sector clients—from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to the Department of Housing and Urban Development—grow and refine their operations and impact. He has extensive experience delivering consulting expertise focused on artificial intelligence (AI), supply chain, procurement, financial management, and advanced analytics. His technological, consultative, and entrepreneurial skills help clients find new ways to address challenges ranging from affordable housing to homelessness to guaranteed income. He also has extensive expertise in technical assistance and implementation (TA&I) approaches. And his management experience includes developing high-performing teams through skills and career development and succession planning.

Catherine Hersey, a senior associate, is a seasoned health services researcher and project manager with over 15 years of experience in both Medicare and Medicaid. Her research areas include the implementation and evaluation of accountable care organizations and other alternative payment models, maternal health, substance use disorder, meaningful use of electronic health records, and hospital-acquired infections. Hersey also has experience in quality measurement and improvement. In addition, she has experience in both quantitative and qualitative analyses and managing large and complex projects.

Harold Poston has more than 25 years of experience in federal IT, with deep subject matter expertise across Health IT modernization, Defense Health Agency programs, and Army enterprise IT transformation. Poston leads Abt’s growth strategy for Military Health and VA, connecting federal clients to Abt’s capabilities in digital transformation, data services, and program modernization.

Manoj P. Singh is the former chief operating officer and global managing director at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ltd.  Prior to his mandatory retirement in June 2015, Singh’s responsibilities included leading various Deloitte initiatives, including setting global strategy, directing investments globally, leading areas such as finance, global technology, knowledge management, branding, and guiding country leadership in high-growth markets such as China, India, Africa, Southeast Asia, Mexico and Germany.

Jessica is a qualified international and community development practitioner with over 25 years of experience working in development in Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Asian Studies, Master of International and Community Development and a Graduate Certificate in Gender Policy and Mainstreaming. Jessica’s experience includes working with government, donors, multilaterals, the private sector, managing contractors and NGOs. 

Gary L. Perlin, the retired chief financial officer of Capital One Financial Corporation, is the non-executive chairman of Abt Global’s Board of Directors.Perlin has more than three decades of experience in senior finance roles in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. As CFO of Capital One – one of the largest financial services companies in the nation – Perlin was responsible for the company’s overall financial management. He was named “Best Finance Company CFO” for four years by Institutional Investor magazine between 2007 and 2011.