Staff
OEIE has a professional staff with expertise in evaluation design, strategic planning, project development, quantitative and qualitative methods, data analysis, survey design, and database development.
Our multidisciplinary team includes professionals from education, curriculum and instruction, psychology, public policy, business and administration, adult education, sociology, mathematics, human development, journalism, and computer science. OEIE staff includes evaluators, project coordinators, development specialists, and technology specialists, along with an accomplished internal business and support staff. All evaluators are members of the American Evaluation Association.
 | Cindi Dunn, Ed.D.Director | Cindi Dunn joined OEIE in 2003. As OEIE Director, she works collaboratively with the leadership team to establish office guidelines, contributes to efforts in proposal development and client outreach, and serves as a resource in evaluation design and methodology for other staff members. Her duties also include assisting in the training and support of project staff to promote professional standards in conducting and reporting OEIE evaluation activities and representing the evaluation capabilities of the organization at external meetings and conferences. Cindi received an Ed. D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Technology from Kansas State University, M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Computing from Iowa State University, and B.S. in Secondary Mathematics and Business Education from the University of Nebraska. She has teaching and leadership experiences at both the secondary and post-secondary level. Her primary interests are systems evaluation and building evaluation capacity of stakeholders. |
 | Aaron Schroeder, B.S.Associate Director & Technology Officer | Aaron Schroeder joined OEIE in 2004. In his role as Associate Director & Technology Officer, Aaron oversees the business management operations for OEIE. He also leads a technology team that works with evaluators and clients to streamline data collection and reporting efforts by developing customized databases, web-based data collection systems, and other solutions tightly integrated within comprehensive evaluation plans. Aaron's expertise includes working with clients to design and build data management systems, building and leading a team of technology professionals, and developing innovative reporting and evaluation tools. He has spearheaded efforts to design and implement comprehensive data management systems for Extension, SNAP-Ed, Oklahoma EPSCoR, Kansas Board of Regents Kan-ed, TQE U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. Department of Defense Educational Agency projects, among others. Aaron received a B.S. in Computer Science and B.A. in Mathematics from Kansas State University. |
 | Laura Wallace, M.B.AAdministrative Assistant | Laura Wallace joined OEIE in 2020. In her role as Administrative Assistant, Laura provides administrative and technical support for OEIE to ensure smooth operation of the unit. She completes financial obligations such as invoicing and accounts payable and serves as a liaison to business managers and administrators. Laura manages records for the office and serves as a resource for staff regarding office practices and procedures and supervises hourly student workers. Laura earned B.A. in Literature and a B.A. in History from Geneva College, as well as an M.B.A. from Duquesne University. |
 | Valerie York, Ph.D.Assistant Director – Research and Evaluation | Valerie York joined OEIE in 2008. In her role as the Assistant Director for Research and Evaluation, she provides leadership to OEIE’s research/evaluation team members in the design and implementation of a range of small- and large-scale projects, both internal and external to K-State. Valerie also collaborates as part of leadership teams within the office to strategically determine directions for ongoing office growth and efficiencies, playing a critical role in developing and implementing internal processes and resources to enhance quality and efficiency across the research/evaluation team and its connections with other OEIE teams (development, technology). Valerie also continues to serve as the lead of evaluation teams for a variety of projects focusing on research, education/outreach, workforce development, and broadening participation that involve collaboration across multiple institutions, states, and disciplines. She also mentors and builds capacity of other research/evaluation staff in their efforts to lead and support evaluation teams. Valerie earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology and M.S. in Psychology from Kansas State University and a B.A. in Psychology from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Additionally, Valerie holds a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health Psychology from Kansas State University. |
 | Allison Teeter, Ph.D.Assistant Director – Strategic Initiatives and Development | Allison Teeter joined OEIE in 2011. In her role as the Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives and Development Allison provides strategic direction for securing funding to sustain OEIE activities and leads teams to collaborate with clients in the creation of logic models, evaluation plans, and other research and evaluation proposal materials leading to funded projects/contracts. She serves as the primary liaison between OEIE and the Office of Research and Development and coordinates the wide variety of strategic development processes at OEIE. Allison also continues to serve as the lead of evaluation teams for a variety of projects focusing on research and extension capacity building, workforce development, and broadening participation that involve collaboration across multiple institutions, states, and disciplines. She also mentors and builds capacity of other research/evaluation staff in their efforts to lead and support evaluation teams. Allison earned a Ph.D., M.A. with an emphasis in Social Research Methods, a B.A. in Spanish, and a B.A. in Sociology from Kansas State University. Allison also holds a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Kansas State University. |
 | Derek BeinsTechnical Support Coordinator | Derek Beins joined OEIE in 2019. In his role as Technical Support Coordinator, Derek is responsible for providing technical support for the PEARS web-based application and creating video documentation for the system. Derek brings with him over a decade of experience of providing exceptional technical support and customer service to the team, as well as graphic design, instructional design, and video production expertise. |
 | LeAnn Brosius, M.A.Research/Evaluation Associate | LeAnn Brosius joined OEIE in 2013 as an Evaluation Projects Coordinator. In 2019, she transitioned to the role of Research/Evaluation Associate. As a Research/Evaluation Associate, she supports evaluation of projects in the areas of agriculture, science and school-based education, workforce development, social and health education, and capacity building. LeAnn has expertise in data collection, data analysis, and data visualization as well as instrument development, project management, and reporting and dissemination. She has experience in social network analysis, bibliometric and altmetric analyses, and exploring the impact of dissemination efforts through social media platforms. LeAnn received an M.A. in Communication Studies and a B.S. in Elementary Education with a minor in Leadership Studies from Kansas State University. She has over ten years of experience teaching K-12 students domestically and internationally and holds a TESOL Certificate from LanguageCorps Asia. |
| Weston Chan, B.S.Applications Developer | Weston Chan joined OEIE in 2019 as a student developer. In 2020, he began his role as a full-time Applications Developer. In this role, Weston primarily creates features for and maintains the PEARS web application. Weston has expertise developing data-driven, responsive web applications using the Django framework. |
 | Adam Cless, M.S.Senior Research/Evaluation Assistant | Adam Cless joined OEIE in 2017. In his role as Senior Research/Evaluation Assistant, he supports evaluation efforts in the areas of leadership development, school-based education, and capacity building. Adam has expertise in data collection and analysis, project coordination, and reporting and dissemination. He has experience conducting focus groups and interviews, and writing and presenting findings. Adam received a M.S. in Life Span Human Development and a B.S. in Family Studies and Human Services with a certificate in Conflict Resolution from Kansas State University. He has experience working within communities in Kansas to build capacity around health initiatives and poverty-reduction initiatives. He also has experience measuring impacts of the federally-supported 4-H Military Partnerships program. |
 | Holly Connell, M.P.H.Senior Research/Evaluation Assistant | Holly Connell joined OEIE in 2017. In her role as an Senior Research/Evaluation Assistant, she provides support for evaluation efforts in the areas of managing data files, writing data summaries, and editing and compiling reports. Holly has expertise in providing technical assistance to communities receiving grant funding, working with diverse stakeholder groups, facilitating project implementation and evaluation, as well as reporting outcome data and completing summary reports. Holly received an M.P.H. in Community and Behavioral Health with an emphasis in health policy and a B.S. in Health and Human Physiology from The University of Iowa. |
| Belle Federman, Sc.D.Research/Evaluation Associate | Belle Federman joined OEIE in 2019. In her role as a Research/Evaluation Associate she evaluates projects in the areas of workforce development, capacity building and health and social education. Belle has expertise in evaluation design, project coordination, instrument development, data analysis and the dissemination of findings through technical reports, infographics and publications. She has experience with a broad array of descriptive and inferential statistics and in supporting data collection and analysis for program planning and evaluation. Belle received her doctorate degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her bachelors degree in Psychology and English Literature from Swarthmore College. |
 | Ming-Yi (Grace) Hsieh, Ph.D.Research/Evaluation Assistant | Grace Hsieh joined OEIE in 2020. In her role as an Research/Evaluation Assistant, she provides support for evaluation efforts in the areas of managing data files, writing data summaries, and editing and compiling reports. Grace received her doctorate degree in Educational Psychology from the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, and her masters and bachelors degrees in Applied Foreign Languages (English)/Linguistics both from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. |
| Connor Knightley, B.S.Technical Support Coordinator | Connor Knightley joined OEIE in 2018. In his role as Technical Support Coordinator, Connor is responsible for providing technical support for the PEARS web-based application. Connor also writes documentation for the PEARS system. Connor has expertise in applications analysis, front-end web development, and business intelligence. Connor completed his B.S. in Biology and Political Economy at the University of Oregon. His previous experience includes project management, designing and developing websites for public sector organizations, and CRM/ERP administration. |
| Thomas Lazarus, B.S.Applications Developer | Thomas Lazarus joined OEIE in 2019 as a student developer. In 2020, he began his role as a full-time Applications Developer. In this role, Thomas primarily creates features for and maintains the PEARS web application. Thomas has expertise developing data-driven, responsive web applications using the Django framework. |
| Levi Mann, B.S.Applications Developer | Levi Mann joined OEIE in 2014 as a student technical specialist. In 2017, he began his role as a full-time Applications Developer. In this role, Levi primarily creates features for and maintains the PEARS web application. Levi has expertise developing data-driven, responsive web applications using the Django framework. Levi completed his B.S. in Computer Science at Kansas State University. He has six years of experience providing web application and office technical support and has been doing Django web application development for several years. |
| Amy Mattison, Ph.D.Research/Evaluation Associate | Amy Mattison joined OEIE in 2019 and has been working in the field of evaluation for 11 years. As a Research/Evaluation Associate, her projects have involved assessing capacity building, workforce development, school-based projects, social and behavioral health initiatives, and risk communications. Amy has extensive experience in evaluation design, development, implementation, and dissemination of findings to various audiences. Her expertise includes design of evaluation instruments, data collection methods, analyses, and reporting of local, state, and national projects. Amy received a Ph.D., MPH in health promotion, education, and behavior from the University of South Carolina, a B.A. in Anthropology from Skidmore College, and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of South Carolina. |
 | Michael Miller, Ph.D.Research/Evaluation Assistant | Michael Miller joined OEIE in 2020. In his role as a Research/Evaluation Assistant he supports data collection, evaluation, and reporting for a variety of research grants in agriculture, STEM and education. Michael has expertise in instrument development, data collection and analysis, and reporting and disseminating findings through technical reports, presentations, and publications. He has experience analyzing secondary data, bibliometric and altmetric data, social network analysis, developing and administering surveys, and conducting interviews and focus groups. Michael earned his PhD in sociology in 2020. His dissertation analyzes the narratives that low income residents use to describe the food environment and their experiences coping with food insecurity. He received his Master’s degree in sociology from Kansas State University, and completed his Bachelor’s degree in sociology at Washburn University. His previous experience includes teaching several sociology courses at Kansas State University, publishing research in national and regional journals, and presenting work at national and regional conferences. |
| Brent O'Connor, B.S.Senior Software Engineer, Team Lead | Brent O’Connor joined OEIE in 2014. In his role as Senior Software Engineer, he manages the development of web applications - notably PEARS - and provides general technical assistance for OEIE. Brent’s expertise includes modern web development and developing dynamic and highly functional web applications. Brent received a B.S. in Pastoral Ministries from Manhattan Christian College. Brent has more than ten years of experience in web software development, design and system administration. He has built large websites, including an online newspaper, a video sharing website, a social network and more. |
| Dee Sanfilippo, M.P.A.Grant Specialist | Dee Sanfilippo joined OEIE in 2019 as a Grant Specialist. In her position, Dee collaborates to prepare grant proposals including the development of evaluation plans, logic models, budget justifications, letters of commitment, and other grant application materials. She reviews funding agency guidelines, policies, and evaluation expectations. Dee received an M.P.A., City Management from the University of Kansas and a B.S. in Journalism. She received Phase III Trainer Certification - Missouri National Guard Senior Advisors Course and is certified in the Grants Management Program Pass-Through Track from Management Concepts. Her expertise includes program development, meeting management, professional writing, training, program evaluation, workshop development, conference planning, strategic planning, administrative rules development, emergency management, and nonprofit administration. She has more than twenty years of experience in the administration of federal and state grants. |
 | Madalyn Talmage, B.S.Technical Support Coordinator | Madalyn Talmage joined OEIE in 2019. In her role as Technical Support Coordinator, Madalyn is responsible for providing technical support and training for the PEARS web-based application. Madalyn also writes documentation for the PEARS system. Madalyn received a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and Accounting from the University of Tulsa. She also has experience in IT audit, nonprofit administration, volunteer coordination, and client management. |
 | Joel Wallace, B.S.Client Support Manager, Team Lead | Joel Wallace joined OEIE in 2013. In his role as Client Support Manager, he leads the PEARS Support Team and manages technical support for the office supporting desktops, laptops, printers, phones, and other technology. Joel has expertise in providing technical support to clients, training users on new technology, managing internal software and hardware needs, as well as maintaining and updating databases. Joel received a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Kansas State University. His previous experience includes twelve years in technology and eight years providing customer service, training, and staff supervision. |
| Joshua Weaver, B.S.Senior Front-End Developer | Joshua Weaver joined OEIE in 2019. As a Senior Front End Developer, he is responsible for leading the client side aspects of the PEARS project and building new features. Joshua’s expertise in web application development and crafting user experiences are leveraged primarily on moving the PEARS software forward. He is equally comfortable with code and people, and has a broad work experience. He’s had the privilege of writing back and front-end software for web apps used by universities all over the United States. Joshua received a BS in Economics and a BS in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and has been working in the web software industry for 12 years. |
Research Support Staff | ||
Graduate Student Assistants 785-532-5930 | Lindsay Mason Taylor Doner | |
Undergraduate Student Assistants 785-532-5930 | Julianna Alaman Torian Simpson | |
Student Developers 785-532-5930 | Jared Bothwell Peyton Riley | |
