The HEDCO Institute aims to support K-12 education leaders’ evidence-informed decision-making. Our team of researchers, educators, and communicators are dedicated to summarizing the latest education research and providing evidence-based practice recommendations.
Emily Tanner-Smith, PhD, is the Executive Director of the HEDCO Institute and Thomson Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services. Emily provides strategic leadership for the HEDCO Institute in its research and outreach efforts. Emily is an applied research methodologist with expertise in meta-analysis and research synthesis for evidence-informed decision-making. Her scholarship focuses on the prevention and treatment of substance use, delinquency, mental health, and academic problems among youth.
Contact Emily with any inquiries about the mission and activities of the Institute.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Lisa Chinn, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the HEDCO Institute, where she focuses on evidence synthesis on topics such as school-based interventions. With a Ph.D. in Developmental Science and a M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience, she has expertise in typical cognitive development, developmental effects of adversity, executive functioning, and neuroimaging.
Jen Davis, BS, BA, is the Executive Assistant for the HEDCO Institute. Jen brings administrative leadership and a diverse outlook having worked with key stakeholders in various sectors, including business, sports and entertainment, government, and higher education. Throughout her career, Jen has been an integral team member on new change initiatives for large, complex organizations.
Elizabeth Day, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor with the HEDCO Institute at the College of Education, University of Oregon. Elizabeth focuses on analyzing and utilizing best practices for connecting research, practice, and policy. Her research focuses on understanding how to best bridge research, practice, and policy, with a particular focus on child and adolescent well-being and social policy at the state level.
Contact Elizabeth with any inquiries related to the use of research evidence in practice and policy.
Joe Golfen, MS, is the Digital Communications and Marketing Specialist at the HEDCO Institute. In this role, Joe is responsible for creating and enhancing communication products for the HEDCO Institute. Additionally, Joe oversees the management of the institute's branding, website, email communications, and social media channels.
Sean Grant, DPhil, is a Research Associate Professor with the HEDCO Institute at the College of Education, University of Oregon. Sean specializes in methods for synthesizing research evidence and expert opinion on the effectiveness and implementation of practices, programs, and policies. Sean’s scholarship focuses on the generation, synthesis, and use of evidence from intervention research across the social, behavioral, and health sciences.
Contact Sean with any inquiries about our evidence synthesis methods.
Katarzyna (Kasia) Steinka-Fry, MA, MPA, is a Senior Research Assistant with the HEDCO Institute. Kasia brings over 15 years of experience in the evaluation research in social and health science, with expertise in the areas of data management, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis. Her prior work focused on interventions for juvenile offenders, adolescent substance use, teen pregnancy prevention, school safety, school dropout, and academic achievement.
Research Associate
Shaina Trevino, PhD, is a Research Associate with the HEDCO Institute. Shaina specializes in developing data science workflows for evidence synthesis data collection and analysis, as well as creating dynamic, reproducible research reports and interactive web apps. Through her work at the institute, she aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap by creating accessible research products for educational stakeholders. Shaina’s scholarship is focused on intergenerational transmission of self- and emotion regulation, youth well-being, and violence prevention.
Contact Shaina with any inquiries related to developing evidence synthesis workflows or web apps.
Advising Faculty
David Liebowitz, EdD, is an Assistant Professor of Education Methodology, Policy and Leadership at the University of Oregon. His research documents the challenges facing schools and their leaders. It attempts to generate strategies to improve leadership and organizational practices, particularly in schools serving low-income students.
Gena Nelson, PhD, is an Assistant Research Professor in the Center on Teaching and Learning. Her research interests include evidence-based practices to support students with learning disabilities, school-based mathematics interventions, special education teacher preparation, and strategies to support caregivers in home learning environments to enhance early learning opportunities for young children.
John R. Seeley, PhD, is a professor in the Special Education and Clinical Sciences department and a core faculty member in the Prevention Science program. His research interests include emotional and behavioral disorders, school-based mental health intervention, research design and program evaluation, and digital health technology.
Ilana Umansky, PhD, is an Associate Professor. Her work focuses on quantitative and longitudinal analysis of the educational opportunities and outcomes of immigrant students, emerging bilingual students, and students classified in school as English learners (ELs). She studies key EL policies including identification, service provision, and reclassification, focusing on issues of stratification and opportunity.
Affiliated Scientists
Maria’s research uses a prevention science framework to identify malleable intervention targets and tailor evidence-based interventions to prevent child maltreatment, justice involvement, and substance use.
Nicholas J. Parr, PhD, MPH is an Associate Director and Research Scientist within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Evidence Synthesis Program, a longstanding and highly regarded national research synthesis program. His research to date has focused on advancing research synthesis and analysis methods to better characterize sources of variation in intervention effects, and on investigating risk factors for substance misuse and suicidality experienced by minority, underserved, and hard-to-reach populations.
Leslie Perdue, MPH, is an Affiliate Scientist with the HEDCO Institute at the College of Education, University of Oregon as well as a Senior Research Associate for the Kaiser Permanente Evidence-based Practice Center. She has conducted systematic reviews in support of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for the past 14 years. Her recent work has focused on synthesizing systematic review results in interactive visualizations.
Contact us
The HEDCO Institute for Evidence-Based Educational Practice aims to tackle the most pressing issues in education and support today’s educators. We welcome feedback and suggestions from anyone looking to improve today's educational environment.
We’d love to hear from you about emerging trends we should know about. Please indicate in your email if you would like to be contacted by someone on our staff.
Email: hedcoinstitute@uoregon.edu
Physical Address
Office: HEDCO Education Bldg, 365
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-6247
Mailing Address
6247 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-6247
If you are a UO graduate student interested in getting experience in research synthesis, knowledge mobilization, or stakeholder engagement, and you would like to volunteer with the HEDCO Institute, please email us at hedcoinstitute@uoregon.edu.
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HEDCO Institute Independence and Conflicts of Interest
The HEDCO Institute’s work is conducted as part of externally funded and donor-funded research and outreach at the University of Oregon. The HEDCO Institute’s research agendas and published findings are neither determined nor influenced by our external funders or donors. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that no undue conflict of interest affects the perception or actual conduct of our work. Potential conflicts of interest are clearly identified and disclosed, and individuals with potential conflicts of interest (i.e., those who could gain a personal financial or other benefit from a particular scientific decision) are not allowed to influence any of the scientific decisions or access the results before publication.
Honoring Native Peoples and Lands
The University of Oregon is located on Kalapuya ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Education
The College of Education is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our undergraduate and graduate students, our faculty, our staff, and our partners.
See our plans, activities, and opportunities.