Who We Are

Marc L. Stein, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. His research investigates how systems external to the educational system impact children and their opportunities to achieve positive educational and life outcomes. His current work is examining how space and place interact and condition the ability of individuals, families and communities to access and benefit from educational opportunities. This work utilizes geospatial data and tools in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data archives and data intensive computing to deepen our understanding of educational opportunity and access across social groups. 

Lieny Jeon is the Jeffrey Alexander Grigg Associate Professor in the Department of Advanced Studies in Education at Johns Hopkins School of Education. She leads the Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) which is an early childhood focused research-practice partnership. She received her PhD degree in Human Development and Family Science with a minor in Quantitative Method at Ohio State University. She completed her post-doctoral training in the Department of Defense Child Development Virtual Laboratory School. Her research focuses on early care and education, family characteristics and neighborhood disadvantage that impact children’s lives. 

Nathaniel Dewey, PhD, is an assistant research scientist with the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. His primary research interest is the quantitative methodology of improvement science in education. His research agenda involves the development of practical tools to assist in school improvement. To this end, Nathaniel’s secondary research interests include systems thinking, causality, experimental design, time-series analysis, time-series data in education (e.g., daily attendance), and computational social science. The vision of his research is a world where schools are empowered to improve their own quality.

Curt Cronister (MAS Spatial Analysis for Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) is a seasoned data analyst with years of experience in the management and analysis of research data at Stanford, Northwestern, and Johns Hopkins, as well as for-profit companies like SunAmerica, Morningstar, and United Educators. Mr. Cronister has over 20 years of experience organizing original data sources, developing associated data dictionaries and creating data collection, storage, retrieval and analytic systems. He is also proficient in the use of GIS software to map data and provide spatial context for geographic datasets.