MDRC Experts Presenting at APPAM Research Conference, November 9-11

The Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) is holding its Annual Fall Research Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Entitled “Policy That Matters: Making Public Services Work for All,” it will be held November 9-11, 2023. A number of MDRC experts are presenting papers and participating in panels and roundtables.

Please visit our exhibit booth (#409) to learn about our latest work and current career opportunities.


Thursday, November 9

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Panel: Giving Participants More Say in How They Work Toward Economic Security: Assessments of Employment Coaching from Participants, Practitioners, and Researchers

  • Organizer: April Yanyuan Wu (Mathematica)
  • Panel Chair: Megan Reid (U.S Department of Health and Human Services)
  • Discussant: Donna Wharton-Fields (MDRC)

Panel Paper: Equity in Participation in High-Quality Early Childhood Education: The Role of Early Schooling in Shaping Inequality in Academic, Executive Functioning, and Social-Emotional Skills

  • Presenting Author: Meghan McCormick (MDRC)
  • Authors: Marissa Thompson (Teachers College, Columbia University), Christina Weiland (University of Michigan), Catherine Snow (Harvard Graduate School of Education), Joann Hsueh (MDRC), and Jason Sachs (Boston Public Schools)

10:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Panel: Building the Experimental Evidence That a Successful Postsecondary Program Model Works in New Contexts: Results from Three Studies

1:45 PM - 3:15 PM

Panel Paper: Forging a Path to College Persistence: An Experimental Evaluation of the Detroit Promise Path Program

  • Presenting Author: Stacey Brockman (Youth Policy Lab, University of Michigan)
  • Authors: Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija (Education Policy Initiative, University of Michigan), Alyssa Ratledge (MDRC), Rebekah O’Donoghue (MDRC), Micah Baum (University of Michigan), Brian Jacob (Youth Policy Lab, University of Michigan)

Panel: Strengths-Based Approaches for Studies with a Focus on Race

Panel Paper: Using Learning Cycles to Strengthen Fatherhood Programs: Final Report on the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) Study

  • Presenting Author: Dina Israel (MDRC)

Roundtable: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice for Equitable Community College Outcomes

  • Moderator: Alexander K. Mayer (MDRC)
  • Speakers: Jeremy Wright-Kim (University of Michigan), Taylor Odle (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Austin Slaughter (MDRC)

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Panel Paper: A Long-Term Look at Multiple Measures Assessment: Impact Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Presenting Author: Elizabeth Kopko (Community College Research Center)
  • Authors: Hollie Daniels (Community College Research Center), Dan Cullinan (MDRC)

Roundtable: Equity in Action: Transforming the Field

  • Moderator: Susan Gooden (Virginia Commonwealth University)
  • Speakers: Nakeina Douglas-Glenn (Virginia Commonwealth University), Samuel L. Myers, Jr. (University of Minnesota), John Martinez (MDRC), Sara Mogulescu (Volcker Alliance)

Friday, November 10, 2023

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Panel: Emerging Research on Parenting Interventions (Family and Child Policy)

  • Panel Chair: Julia Alamillo (Mathematica)
  • Discussants: Meghan McCormick (MDRC), Jin Yao Kwan (University of Delaware)

Panel: Entrapped, Distrustful, Stinted & Impoverished: Quantitative and Qualitative Investigations of the SSI Experience across Adulthood

  • Organizer: Katie Savin (California State University, Sacramento)
  • Panel Chair: Katie Jajtner (University of Wisconsin – Madison)
  • Discussants: Mina Addo (MDRC), Rebecca Vallas (The Century Foundation)

Panel Paper: Remote Training for Inclusive Economic Mobility: Evaluating the Google Career Certificates Fund

  • Presenting Author: Edith Yang (MDRC)

10:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Panel Paper: Engaging Residents, Contending with Race: Strategies to Engage Residents in Four Place-Based Initiatives

  • Presenting Author: M. Victoria Quiroz Becerra (MDRC)
  • Authors: Omar Moore (MDRC), Kelsey Brown (MDRC)

Equity and Inclusion Session Paper: Is Showing up Half the Battle? Prekindergarten Absenteeism and the Role of Peer Attendance in Boston Public Schools

  • Presenting Author: Tiffany Wu (University of Michigan)
  • Authors: Christina Weiland (University of Michigan), Rebecca Unterman (MDRC), Anna Shapiro (University of Virginia)

1:45 PM - 3:15 PM

Panel: Ineffective or Essential? New Evidence on the Effects of State Third-Grade Reading Retention Laws

  • Organizer: Christina Weiland (University of Michigan)
  • Panel Chair: Cory Koedel (University of Missouri)
  • Discussants: Susanna Loeb (Stanford University), Meghan McCormick (MDRC)

Roundtable: Honoring the Legacy of Laurence E. Lynn, Jr.: Policy Actor, Scholar, Academic Leader, and Mentor

  • Moderator: Carolyn Hill (MDRC)
  • Speakers: David Weimer (University of Wisconsin – Madison), Angela Evans (The University of Texas at Austin), Donald Moynihan (Georgetown), Carolyn Heinrich (Vanderbilt University)

Saturday, November 11, 2023

10:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Panel: Measuring What Matters: Building Tools That Drive More Equitable Experiences and Outcomes in Early Childhood

  • Panel Chair: Emily Hanno (MDRC)
  • Discussants: Ximena Portilla (MDRC), Todd Grindal (SRI)

Panel Paper: Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior in Elementary Schools: Impacts on the Outcomes of Students, Overall, and Those Struggling the Most with Behavior

  • Presenting Author: Barbara Condliffe (MDRC)
  • Author: Lauren Angelo (U.S. Department of Education)