Program Design & Evaluation
From 2002 to 2010 I was a member of the research team at the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST). Beginning as a Research Assistant and working my way up to Project Director, I learned the nuts and bolts of assessment, qualitative and quantitative research design and analysis, and how to craft grant proposals. After nearly a decade of conducting federally-funded clinical trials I wanted to explore the challenges of implementing these evidence-based programs in community-based settings. Following the completion of my postdoctoral training in HIV and drug abuse research at NDRI, I accepted a position as the first Director of Research at the Center for Motivation and Change (CMC), an outpatient substance abuse treatment center specializing in providing evidence-based treatments. As Director of Research at CMC I designed and implemented an ongoing program aiming to evaluate the efficacy of treatments delivered, identify predictors of patient outcomes and integrate cutting-edge research practice with the provision of individually tailored clinical treatment for patients and their families.
While continuing to collaborate with my colleagues at CMC, I now offer program implementation and evaluation services to community-based organizations and behavioral health research teams as an independent consultant.
The following are examples of recent evaluation and implementation projects and proposals I have led and/or consulted on:
Center for Motivation and Change (June, 2010 - October 2012)
- Directed CMC’s research and evaluation projects, including the development of research policies, objectives, and initiatives to evaluate evidence based behavioral treatments for substance abuse.
- Developed and implemented an on-site client outcome tracking system, including a comprehensive initial patient assessment and ongoing treatment evaluation and follow up using a custom designed interactive computer software program that assesses clients’ substance use, behaviors and mental health. This system also provides clinical feedback for the patient and therapist to be used in-session.
- Responsible for developing theoretically grounded research questions and hypotheses and coordinating with statistical, software and research consultants to design an efficient and empirically sound program evaluation process.
While continuing to collaborate with my colleagues at CMC, I now offer program implementation and evaluation services to community-based organizations and behavioral health research teams as an independent consultant.
The following are examples of recent evaluation and implementation projects and proposals I have led and/or consulted on:
Center for Motivation and Change (June, 2010 - October 2012)
- Directed CMC’s research and evaluation projects, including the development of research policies, objectives, and initiatives to evaluate evidence based behavioral treatments for substance abuse.
- Developed and implemented an on-site client outcome tracking system, including a comprehensive initial patient assessment and ongoing treatment evaluation and follow up using a custom designed interactive computer software program that assesses clients’ substance use, behaviors and mental health. This system also provides clinical feedback for the patient and therapist to be used in-session.
- Responsible for developing theoretically grounded research questions and hypotheses and coordinating with statistical, software and research consultants to design an efficient and empirically sound program evaluation process.
