Poverty Center Staff biographies
Tsui Chan, B.S. in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University,
is a Programmer/Analyst at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development. Ms. Chan's
responsibilities include developing and designing databases, analyzing data using SAS and other
software packages, conducting spatial analysis and mapping, and managing the Center's computer
network. She is also responsible for the design and maintenance of the Center's online database
system (NEO CANDO),
and the development of computer programs and GIS applications that are used in various research
projects in the Center.
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Jeff Hagan, B.A. in History, Oberlin College, directs the Center's
communications, as well as the communications for the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. For
five years prior to coming to the Center, Jeff worked at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum,
first in public relations and then as the Museum's website editor. In addition to serving as writer
and editor for a number of publications, Jeff's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Fodor's travel
publications, ARTnews, public radio's Marketplace program, the Plain Dealer, WCPN, WKSU, Angle, the
Forward, Ohio Magazine, Case Magazine, the Oberlin Alumni Magazine, Cleveland Magazine and Northern
Ohio Live, among others.
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Paige Hardy, M.A. in Psychology from the University of Melbourne, joined the
Center to work as a Research Assistant for the Invest in Children (IIC) initiative in 2005. Her
primary responsibilities are to provide SAS programming and database management support to IIC, she
also works on other Poverty Center projects as needed. Before coming to Cleveland she worked as a
Research Assistant at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Boston Public Health Commission in
Boston.
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Robert Herman-Smith, M.A., MSW, is a doctoral candidate at the MSASS. He has an M.A.
in Psychology from Duquesne University and an MSW from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. His research interests include early childhood intervention, the developmental needs of
abused and neglected children, the relationship between family income and pre-literacy skills in
preschool children, and public policy in regard to non-traditional families with children. Bob is
coordinating an evaluation project examining outcomes of a prenatal and postnatal home visiting
program on the health and development of young children and their families. He also teaches program
design and child development at MSASS.
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Molly Irwin, MPH, is the Director of the Child Policy Initiative at
the Schubert Center for Child Studies. Prior to
coming to Case, Molly served as the Interim Director for the Cuyahoga County Early Childhood
Initiative (now called Invest in Children), and managed its comprehensive external evaluation.
Previously she served as the Surveillance and Evaluation Coordinator for the South Carolina Bureau
of Maternal and Child Health at the State Department of Health and Environmental Control. Molly is
currently pursuing her doctorate in Social Welfare at MSASS and is working on research focusing on
the impact of race and neighborhood on various child outcomes. She holds a Masters degree in Public
Health in the area of Maternal and Child Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
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Nina Lalich, M.S.P.H. in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, is an Analyst/Programmer at the Center. She provides data management and statistical
analysis in support of the Center's research and evaluation efforts. She is currently involved in
the evaluation study of Cuyahoga County's Invest in Children program. She has also participated in
studies of welfare recipients and welfare leavers. Prior to joining the Center, Nina was a Public
Health Service officer with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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Kristen Mikelbank, M.A. in Geography from The Ohio State University, is a research
assistant at the Center. Her principal role is to provide research support on various projects,
particularly in the areas of quantitative spatial analysis and Geographic Information Systems
(GIS). Some of the projects she has worked on include assessing child and adult literacy, analyzing
demographic shifts in population, examining juvenile court data, and studying local drug markets.
In addition, she helps prepare the indicators in the Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data
for Organizing (NEO CANDO)
database. Prior to joining the Poverty Center in 2001, Kristen spent two years working at the
Children's Defense Fund-Ohio as a research assistant, conducting policy-relevant research related
to the well-being of children.
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Curtis O'Neal, B.A. in Anthropology, University of Chicago, serves as Administrative
Coordinator for the Center. Curtis joined the Poverty Center's team after working for a financial
planning agency dealing with sports celebrities and "high net worth" clients. His dealings with
various philanthropist clients and their foundations, community trusts, as well as religious,
political and charitable contributions, inspired him to work professionally in a center promoting
social change.
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Jess Rudolph, B.A. in English from Case Western Reserve University, assists in
the daily operations of the Poverty Center's Research Satellite in Bellflower Hall. He works
closely with the Invest In Children Evaluation Staff on administrative and computer upkeep for the
Satellite and the Center. Prior to joining the staff at the Center he worked as an undergraduate
assistant at the Center for four years.
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Michael Schramm, M.A. in Geography from Syracuse University, is a
Analyst/Programmer at the Center. He is extensively involved in the development and maintenance of
the Center's Northeast Ohio Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO)
database. He also assists the community on a continuing basis with data and GIS mapping and
conducts regular training sessions on how to use the NEO CANDO as a tool for social change. Michael
has been working with Cleveland's community development organizations since 2001 and has
implemented ArcIMS web mapping applications for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission in
Chicago and for the CleveInfo project in Cleveland.
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