Research Connections Fellows
Nominated by key national policy and professional organizations, Research Connections Fellows participate in a special training on using the Research Connections Web site to respond to technical assistance requests from their members. Fellows also help inform the continual improvement of the site, the development of new policy-relevant site content, and the identification of timely policy research questions.
The current Research Connections Fellows are:
Rachel Demma
Senior Policy Analyst
National Governors Assocation
Rachel Demma, M.A., is a Senior Policy Analyst with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and supports the Education Division's Early Childhood Projects. Prior to joining the National Governors Association, Ms. Demma was a Senior Policy Associate with the American Public Human Services Association and acted as Staff Director of the National Association of State Child Care Administrators. She has also served as staff to Baltimore City's Local Management Board within the Mayor's Office for Children, Youth and Families, an evaluation consultant to the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative in San Francisco, CA, and a Program Specialist in the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement within the Administration for Children and Families. Ms. Demma also contributed to the initial five years of the /Building Futures/: Head Start Impact Study as a Research Associate on the Westat study team. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Washington College on Maryland's Eastern Shore, and an M.A. in Policy Analysis and Evaluation from Stanford University's School of Education.
Robert LaVallee
Senior Program Associate
The Finance Project
Mr. LaVallee has more than 15 years of experience managing direct service programs for children and youth, and supporting the design and development of afterschool policies and programs. Prior to joining The Finance Project, Mr. LaVallee served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Commission on After School and Out of School Time. He also directed the Community Afterschool Initiative for BOSTnet, a community intermediary that helps expand, strengthen and sustain quality afterschool programs in Boston. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Non-Profit Management from Boston University and Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.
Davida McDonald
Director of State Policy
National Association for the Education of Young Children
Davida McDonald is Director of State Policy at NAEYC, where her primary responsibilities are researching and tracking state public policy trends and working with state and local affiliates to build their public policy capacity. She brings to NAEYC a knowledge of statewide advocacy and coalition-building campaigns. Prior to working at NAEYC, she worked in the state program at the Trust for Early Education as State Program Analyst and came there from Massachusetts, where she managed a statewide information dissemination and capacity-building campaign as well as an advocacy skills building and leadership development project targeting child care providers. Prior to her work in the early care and education field, Ms. McDonald worked at a community health center in a Boston neighborhood managing its health education and outreach activities. She was also Project Coordinator of the Welfare in Transition Project at the Radcliffe Public Policy Institute, working under Principal Investigator Lisa Dodson to document the affect that welfare reform had on women, their families, and their communities in Boston and Cambridge, MA. Ms. McDonald has a BA from Harvard University and a Masters of Public Health in maternal and child health from the Boston University School of Public Health.
Violeta Mora
Information Specialist
National Child Care Information Center
Ms. Violeta Mora is an Information Specialist at the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), a service of the Department of Health and Human Services' Child Care Bureau. She is responsible for collecting and disseminating information about various child care issues, including child care subsidies and subsidy administration, business development, business management, and diversity and multicultural issues. Prior to joining NCCIC, Ms. Mora provided direct services to children and families in a variety of roles at the Northern Virginia Family Service, including family support worker, parent resource specialist, and parent involvement specialist. Ms. Mora received her BA degree in psychology from Marymount University in 2004, and is currently pursuing an MA in Social Work at The Catholic University of America.
Ngozi Onunaku
Program Associate
American Public Human Services Association
Ms. Onunaku wears two hats at APHSA, spending a portion of her time on national child welfare program and policy initiatives at APHSA. Her child welfare topics include disproportionality (the over- and underrepresentation of children of color in foster care), youth aging out, and improving the educational outcomes of children in care. She also leads the National Association of State Child Care Administrators (NASCCA), an APHSA affiliate, where she provides oversight and technical assistance to improve state and federal child care programs and policy. Ms. Onunaku brings 7 years of experience in child development issues from the non-profit and federal sector. She was a 2004 Children's Defense Fund Emerging Leaders fellow and has a Masters of Arts degree in Child Development from Tufts University.
Julie Poppe
Program Manager
National Conference of State Legislatures
Julie Poppe is a Program Manager with the National Conference of State Legislatures' Child Care and Early Childhood Education Project in Denver, Colorado. She has been a member of the child care and early education project for over ten years where she provides a range of informational services to state legislators and legislative staff through technical assistance, publications, legislative educational presentations and research on issues related to early care and education for children from birth to age 5. Ms. Poppe has authored and co-authored publications on topics including child care financing, children's mental health services, infant and toddler development and care, and funding inclusive child care. She recently coauthored a report entitled, Early Care and Education State Budget Actions FY 2009 and is managing the report update for FY 2010. Ms. Poppe holds a Master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver and a Bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Wyoming. She also has experience in health policy and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.
Cherie Rains
Senior Director of Research
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
As Senior Director of Research at the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), Dr. Rains is responsible for developing national research strategies and studies to strengthen the child care resource and referral field, and analyzing child care and early education data to develop policy recommendations to help improve the quality of our nation's child care. Dr. Rains has more than 14 years of extensive experience in marketing, research design and analysis. Prior to joining NACCRRA, she served as Vice President of Research and Client Services for a research, consulting and training services firm. As Vice President, she designed, implemented, analyzed and reported on research collected from more than 25 clients on a monthly basis. She also served as Director of Research for an international non-profit organization where she coordinated all major research projects from inception to completion and developed research product strategies and programmatic and policy recommendations based on research results. Dr. Rains holds a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior from Purdue University; Master's Degree in Consumer Studies from Syracuse University; and Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Trenton State College.
Rachel Roberts
National Head Start Fellow
Office of Head Start
Rachel Roberts is currently a National Head Start Fellow with the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start. Prior to coming to Washington, DC, Rachel has taught in a variety of early learning environments, including a rural Head Start program in northern Michigan. Most recently, she served as an Early Literacy Mentor Coach consultant for an Early Reading First Grantee. Rachel earned a Master's degree in Teaching from Western Governor's University, and a Bachelor's degree in Child Development from Michigan State University.
Tonja Rucker, Ph.D.
Senior Program Associate
National League of Cities
Dr. Tonja Rucker currently serves as the Senior Program Associate for Early Childhood Development in the Institute for Youth Education and Families at the National League of Cities (NLC). She is responsible for providing primary program support for the Institute's work in areas related to early childhood success. Prior to joining the NLC team, Tonja served as a Project Associate for the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network in Washington, D.C. In this position, she provided support to several efforts aimed at motivating and supporting students at all academic levels to pursue careers in mathematics, science, and engineering (MSE). Prior to joining the QEM Tonja served as Transition Coordinator for Baltimore City Head Start and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland College Park. She has a doctorate in Human Development from the University of Maryland College Park and a BA in Psychology from Spelman College.
Molly Ryan
Researcher
Education Commission of the States
Molly Ryan, J.D., is a Researcher with the Information Management & Clearinghouse Department of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). She is responsible for tracking, interpreting and analyzing state legislation, developing online publications and state policy databases, and providing research and support for ECS constituents. Prior to joining ECS, Ms. Ryan served as Staff Attorney with the North Carolina School Boards Association. She has experience in governmental relations and education policy drafting and analysis. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina State University, and a J.D. from Campbell University's Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law in North Carolina.
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