About HEMS

Mission and History | Staff

Founded in 1961, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is an independent nonprofit organization committed to solving critical social problems through education, research, training, and social marketing. One of the world's foremost human and social development organizations, AED operates 250 programs to improve education, healthcare, the environment, and economic opportunities, serving people in more than 160 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

The AED Higher Education Management Services (HEMS) Center was established in 1988 to enhance postsecondary education practice and policy by providing innovative services to academic institutions, state agencies, the U.S. government, and private foundations. Services include needs analysis and strategic planning, program design and evaluation, federal grant-writing, and research and policy analysis.

Today HEMS also develops state-of-the-art technology to monitor and evaluate educational reform initiatives for Grades 6-16. Our work develops institutional capacity and state policy to effect systemic reforms intended to (1) increase higher education enrollment and degree completion for disadvantaged and at-risk students; and (2) attract, develop, and retain high-quality K-12 teachers. At the same time, HEMS continues its work in institutional development for colleges and universities and policy research for lawmakers.

To accomplish this, we provide top-notch services and the most current and appropriate tools in collaborative planning, partnership development, program design and evaluation, grant-writing, educational technology integration, research and policy analysis, communication, and data-driven decision-making. We are quickly becoming a market leader in state-of-the art GEAR UP evaluation, particularly with the launch of our software GOES, and its successor, POETS. We serve all levels of the national education continuum, from local communities, to institutions of higher education, to state agencies, to the federal government.

Our Washington, DC, location and wide network of collaborators offer unparalleled access to and application of the latest higher education policy, research, and practice.

In carrying out our work, we are committed to:

• Working collaboratively with clients, partners, and communities to seek consensual solutions.
• Building clients' internal capacity to ensure that programs we implement will continue without additional outside technical support.
• Maintaining accountability through fiscally sound program management and measurable results.
• Encouraging learning and working environments that consistently value diversity and the professional development of individual employees.

Staff

Paul Bucci, Ph.D.- Vice President and Director
Susanna Kung - Senior Research and Evaluation Officer
Arati Singh - Senior Research and Evaluation Officer
David Jochelson - Program Officer
Alain Ly - Finance Officer
Barbara Alford, Ed.D. - Senior Consultant
Katherine Boswell, Ph.D. - Senior Consultant
Sandra Flowers, Ed.D. - Senior Consultant
Cheryll Greenwood Kinsley - Senior Consultant
Ellyn McLaughlin, Ed.D. - Senior Consultant
Nancy Scammacca, Ph. D. - Senior Consultant