Meet Our Core Team
Our dedicated team at MC² Education is composed of experienced researchers, educators, and innovators passionate about shaping the future of education.
With a commitment to excellence, they work tirelessly to drive positive change in the field.
Our Affiliates
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Amy Franklin
Amy is an Affiliate with MC² Education and the Executive Director of the Social and Emotional Learning Alliance for New Mexico. She brings more than 20 years of experience supporting schools and communities in integrating social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence into educational practice.
Dr. Franklin’s work emphasizes mindful, ethical, and proactive approaches to social and emotional development across school and community settings and reflects a long-standing commitment to education, equity, and community-centered leadership.
Barbara Goodson
Barbara is an Affiliate and a nationally recognized expert in research and policy related to families and young children. She brings more than 40 years of experience designing and conducting large, multi-site implementation and impact studies focused on low-income and linguistically diverse children and families.
Dr. Goodson has served as a principal investigator on numerous early childhood evaluations and technical assistance initiatives and brings deep expertise in research methodology, implementation fidelity, and quality measurement across early learning environments.
Beth Boulay
Beth is an Affiliate and an experienced evaluator producing evidence to inform education policy and practice. For more than 20 years, she has designed and conducted evaluations that generate actionable findings for practitioners, program leaders, and policymakers.
Dr. Boulay brings particular expertise in field-based evaluations, evidence-building strategies, and supporting organizations to integrate rigorous evaluation into program implementation
Beth Gamse
Dr. Beth Gamse, MC² Affiliate and Independent Consultant, is an experienced education evaluation leader. She has worked with federal, state, local, philanthropic, and non-profit partners to design and conduct program and policy studies. Dr. Gamse has conducted studies across diverse content areas, school/district reform efforts, and policy initiatives--the majority of which address implementation and impact of initiatives to improve educational outcomes for underserved students, teacher preparation and evaluation, transitions to postsecondary college and career, improvements to afterschool and expanded learning, and research-practice partnerships. She has an Ed. D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Bruce Randel
Bruce Randel, Ph.D., President and Chief Consultant at Century Analytics, Inc., is an affiliate of MC². Dr. Randel has worked on dozens of rigorous evaluations of educational interventions. He has extensive experience with evaluation design, randomized control trials (RCTs), cluster randomized designs, quasi-experimental designs (QEDs), comparison interrupted time series, difference-in-differences analyses, propensity score matching, statistical power analyses, and implementation fidelity. Dr. Randel is certified under Version 5.0 of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards and Procedures for group designs. He also has experience in educational measurement, including psychometrics, item response theory, classical test theory, large-scale testing, formative assessment, and alignment.
Cara Jackson
Cara Jackson, PhD develops and uses evidence to improve the quality of educational opportunities. She has conducted research and evidence reviews on a variety of topics, including early literacy tutoring, policies related to school and teacher quality, and teacher preparation. Cara is a past president of the Association for Education Finance & Policy and an Associate Editor for the Education Finance and Policy journal. Earlier in her career, she taught preschool and kindergarten in New York City. Cara received her Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Maryland.
Carla Nieto
Carla is an Accounting Consultant, supporting the financial systems and operational infrastructure that enable the organization’s work. She brings more than a decade of experience in nonprofit and government accounting, with expertise in grant management, budgeting, and financial planning.
Carla earned her Master of Accounting from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management and has supported numerous nonprofit organizations in strengthening financial practices, compliance, and long-term sustainability.
Cristofer Price
Cristofer is an Affiliate with more than 35 years of experience in behavioral and educational research. He brings deep expertise in evaluation design and statistical analysis, serving as technical lead on a wide range of studies using randomized, quasi-experimental, and regression discontinuity designs.
Across his career, Cristofer has led multiple randomized assignment studies and provided evaluation technical assistance for numerous U.S. Department of Education–funded initiatives. He has contributed to the design of over 150 impact evaluations and developed guidance and tools to support rigorous methods, including power analysis, statistical modeling, use of administrative data, and measurement of implementation fidelity.
Deborah Good
Deborah is co-founder of Good Insights Consulting. For more than 15 years, Deborah has explored how community-based research and evaluation can inform program, policy, and practice in a variety of settings. She partners with schools and nonprofits in using meaningful data to deepen their organizational learning. She currently serves as the Research, Evaluation, and Assessment Coordinator for Oregon State University’s Outdoor School.
Emilio Barraza
Emilio is an Affiliate whose work focuses on school engagement, partnership development, and expanding access to learning opportunities for students. He brings a collaborative, operations-focused approach to building relationships with schools and supporting initiatives that connect educators, students, and communities.
Emilio has more than 20 years of experience in educational nonprofits and workforce development. Based in New Mexico, he has led large-scale training and digital skills initiatives and worked closely with schools, community partners, and public agencies to strengthen learning opportunities and pathways for students
Heather Quick
Heather is an Affiliate with more than 25 years of experience designing and conducting research and evaluation studies focused on programs and policies that support young children and their families. She has led statewide evaluations of early childhood programs, instructional supports, and family engagement initiatives.
Dr. Quick brings expertise across quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches and is known for translating complex findings into actionable recommendations that inform program improvement and policy decisions.
Helen Chen
Helen is an Affiliate and founder of HC Consulting LLC. She provides program evaluation, technical assistance, and strategic thought partnership to organizations seeking to deliver high-quality, evidence-based education programs at scale, with the goal of reducing gaps in opportunity for youth.
Her work includes supporting randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental evaluations, as well as advising organizations on project management, internal systems, and sustainable growth.
Ruth Júarez
Ruth Juárez is a Data Analyst and Visualization Consultant for MC². Ruth brings her deep expertise developing data dashboards to support several nonprofits and state-led efforts to understand program impact to her work as a consultant with MC² Education. Ruth's interactive dashboards allow the consumer to improve their understanding of complex and nuanced social issues that a static table or graph cannot convey. Her formal training in physics and chemistry add to the rigor she employs in every task. Her newer studies in equity and data sovereignty help her deploy products that are grounded in respect and inclusion. In all, she brings her experience of eight years to this work with MC² Education.
WHO WE ARE
Transforming Education with Expertise
At MC², we are committed to answering questions with real-world context. With team members located coast-to-coast and with offices based in New Mexico and Massachusetts, together we cast a wide net of experiences while centering local context and cultural relevance in our work.
Our team specializes in research and evaluation, data democratization, and international development, employing a unique mix of research methods such as interviewing, focus groups, lottery studies, quasi-experiments, and descriptive studies to inform decision making.
