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. |
 | 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. |
 | Daniel AfzalComputer/Systems Specialist | Daniel Afzal joined OEIE in 2021. In his role as Computer/Systems Specialist, Daniel provides desktop hardware and software support for the office. Additionally, Daniel consults with team members on how to use technology to improve processes and workflows. Daniel has over 6 years of experience providing technical support and troubleshooting. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | 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. |
 | Kristin Wright, M.S.Research/Evaluation Associate | Kristin Wright joined OEIE in 2021. As a Research/Evaluation Associate, she supports the evaluation of a variety of projects. |
Research Support Staff | ||
Graduate Student Assistants 785-532-5930 | Lindsay Mason Taylor Doner | |
Undergraduate Student Assistants 785-532-5930 | Julianna Alaman | |
