On January 13, Allison Crean Davis—a national expert in education research, evaluation, and technical assistance—joined Education Northwest as Chief Research Officer. Allison will lead the research and evaluation team while contributing to organizational strategy and partnership development.

Allison brings extensive professional experience working at the intersection of research and practice. Before joining Education Northwest, Allison was vice president of education studies at Westat, where she directed the National Comprehensive Center and the National Summer Learning and Enrichment Study funded by the Wallace Foundation. For both projects, Allison collaborated with a range of partners from across the country, including local, regional, state, Tribal, and federal education agencies, among others.

Allison’s outstanding leadership skills, broad network, and wide range of research, evaluation, and technical assistance work made her stand out as an ideal leader for us. We are excited to have her as part of our team as we continue to expand our reach and impact.

Earlier in her career, Allison launched a research and evaluation practice as a partner at Bellwether, where she led a portfolio of mixed-methods studies, quasi-experiments, and evaluation capacity-building projects. She also served as a director of research at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, part of the Regional Educational Laboratory network funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences.

In her new role, Allison looks forward to growing Education Northwest’s capacity, reach, and impact across the PK–20 education ecosystem and strengthening the use of evidence to support improved opportunities and outcomes for all students.

“Education Northwest is outstanding at tailoring its services for a range of clients and combines strong capacity in both research and technical assistance with passion and integrity for the work,” said Allison. “It’s a winning combination, and I’m excited to build on this incredible foundation to continue serving students, families, and educators throughout the nation.”

Beyond Education Northwest, Allison serves on the board and the executive committee for Knowledge Alliance, a collaboration between 18 leading education organizations that emphasize high-quality, relevant research as a critical solution to challenges in education.

“Allison’s outstanding leadership skills, broad network, and wide range of research, evaluation, and technical assistance work made her stand out as an ideal leader for us,” said Education Northwest Chief Executive Officer Jessica Johnson. “We are excited to have her as part of our team as we continue to expand our reach and impact.”