Allison Black-Maier

I am an evaluator and researcher specializing in STEM education. My role is to help organizations collect, analyze, and apply data to enhance their programs. Like many evaluators, I wasn’t trained as an evaluator – I was trained as a cognitive psychologist. Through my doctoral training at Duke, I realized I loved using data to study how people learn. I particularly enjoyed applied research projects where the results impacted actual education programs. An internship with a program evaluation group at Duke showed me that I could combine these interests. Since earning my PhD in 2017, I’ve been working as an evaluator, first with the Friday Institute at NC State University, and then with Catalyst since 2020.

I enjoy collaborating with clients at all stages of their projects, whether they’re exploring participants’ needs before designing a new exhibit or assessing the impact of a completed program. Recently, I’ve focused on helping clients transform large, messy spreadsheets into more functional databases using tools like Airtable. I enjoy the challenge of helping clients determine which pieces of information are critical to track, which can be cut, and how to keep it all organized to enable data-driven decision making. Ultimately, my goal is to empower organizations to make informed decisions that lead to meaningful improvements.