Former Crane graduate research associate named as Harvard Strategic Data Project fellow

Kathryn Zimmermann, a former Crane graduate research associate finishing her Ph.D. at Ohio State, has been named a fellow at the Harvard Strategic Data Project, an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University that partners with states and school districts to use data to improve educational outcomes.

The Harvard fellowship runs for two years, and during that time, Zimmermann will participate in in-person and virtual training involving data tools and resources. Fellows are placed with an educational institution or organization at the local, state, or national level, and they also receive support from Harvard faculty and from alumni of the program.

Zimmermann will be working at the Allentown School District in Pennsylvania as director of data and performance management, developing infrastructure to track progress toward the goals in the district’s strategic plan.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Zimmermann to our leadership team,” said Dr. Carol D. Birks, Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer of the Allentown School District in a district press release. “Her expertise in quantitative research, data analysis, and educational policy will be invaluable as we work to build a more robust, sophisticated, and accessible data system.”

Zimmermann’s dissertation advisor is Crane faculty associate Dr. Arya Ansari, and also serving on her doctoral committee are Crane faculty associates Dr. Shayne Piasta and Dr. Kelly Purtell.