Hennessy has worked as a project manager and qualitative researcher on several projects since joining MDRC in 2018. She is currently the project manager for Improving Engagement in Elementary School Selection, an intervention to help families navigate the kindergarten application process launched by MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. She is also the implementation researcher on the evaluation of City Year’s whole school whole child model, and she oversees research operations on the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention.
Before joining MDRC, Hennessy conducted qualitative research on an evaluation of Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates for the Child and Family Research Partnership and worked for the New America Foundation. Hennessy holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas Austin and a BA in economics from Lake Forest College.
