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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.

Kristin Heck, JD, MBA, has more than 10 years of experience managing and directing technical teams in the development of digital solutions. Ms. Heck designs and oversees the creation and implementation of technology solutions that align to agency and administration goals. In addition, she often works closely with program leadership to set key solution objectives, manage the development and product roadmap, analyze customer feedback, and prioritize feature development.

Jeffrey (Jeff) Leone is a senior growth leader with more than 20 years of experience leading growth teams and managing complex business development functions such as capture, bids and proposals, market intelligence and competitive assessment, pipeline development, and sales analytics.  Leone’s experience cuts across a range of U.S. domestic and international development markets at Abt and at large, global companies. 

Baris Yener has more than 25 years of experience in executive leadership, growth strategy development, and organizational transformation. His business-development and project work has involved a wide range of clients, including the World Bank, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other private sector and federal agencies.Yener oversees Abt’s business development, strategic growth, marketing, and communications. In this role, he will accelerate growth through partnerships with business and capability leaders across industry and within the firm.

Dr. Nora Connor is a data scientist at Abt Global, where she uses generative AI, cloud-based solutions, and automated workflows to improve data-driven decision-making for federal clients. Her clients include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As the business owner for Abt’s AI strategy, Connor leads the Data Science team developing MLOps, automated real-time data streaming, Infrastructure as Code, and responsible AI solutions. She works directly with vendors and market partners to identify use cases to bring the best AI technologies to the public sector.

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. 

Austin Gooden is a software architect at TSPi, a Division of Abt Global, with 6 years of experience delivering innovative software solutions in the public sector. With expertise spanning the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), Gooden has worked across a broad range of technologies, from Low-Code/No-Code platforms to legacy frameworks and multiple programming languages.  He has successfully delivered a variety of solutions for the U.S. Federal Government that enable systems to adapt seamlessly to congressional mandates, agency policies, and program definition, all while achieving the mission objectives of the IT initiative.

Robin Koralek is a seasoned evaluator and project director with over 30 years of experience in evaluating federal and state social welfare programs. Her expertise spans areas such as food assistance, employment and training cash assistance, and barriers to employment, including for those recovering from substance use disorders. She has worked with various governmental and non-profit organizations, focusing on program design, implementation, and outcomes.