Research Support & Evaluation

Nahida Begum, Ph.D., M.Sc., has more than 15 years of research and evaluation experience in multisectoral policy areas including education, energy efficiency, environment, and youth development. Previously, she worked in Pakistan conducting formative and summative evaluations of community development programs funded by USAID, USEPA, the World Bank, and other development agencies. As a Fulbright grantee, she graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2018 with a Ph.D. in Public Policy concentrating on education and environment policies. Later, she served as a postdoctoral scholar with the Center for Social and Behavioral Research at the University of Northern Iowa. She also has a M.Sc. degree in Planning and Development from the University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Begum has experience in designing and operationalizing evaluation and research in remote regions as well as nationwide surveys. She has applied participatory, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches to her research and evaluation work.

For the past 15 years, Dr. Soo-Yeon Cho has been a researcher and evaluator on federally and state-funded projects. In that time, she has applied rigorous quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods to a range of projects in K-12 education, higher education, and public health with a recent focus on educational programs. She has conducted all stages of evaluation: design, collection, analysis, and reporting of evaluation data. She currently serves as an external evaluator for Linking Science and Literacy for All Learners (NIH-SEPA #R25OD023780-01); Linking Science, Math and Literacy for All Learners (NIH-SEPA #1R25GM146287-01); and for the STEM and Literacy Project (NSF DRK-12 # 2010312). She ensures the fidelity of program implementation, monitors how well program plans and activities are working, and offers timely feedback with project research teams. Previously, in the MU College of Education & Human Development (CEHD), Dr. Cho served on the team that gained the college’s national accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). She conducted performance evaluation of teacher training programs on P-12 student learning, teaching effectiveness, and the satisfaction of employers and completers.

She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Missouri.

With 20-plus years of program development and evaluation experience, Dr. Steven Henness has served in PI, project management, and evaluation roles on Federal, state, local agency, and private foundation grant awards. His applied research and evaluation experience ranges in scope from local community initiatives to multi-state and multidisciplinary projects in Extension, K-16 and community-based education, national service, and youth and community development. As an applied social scientist and evaluator, his experience includes survey development, interviews, focus groups, ripple effects mapping, case studies, and mixed methods approaches. Steve received his PhD in 2024, a graduate certificate in Society & Sustainability in 2021, and his MS in rural sociology in 2000 from the University of Missouri.

Amy Lake, MS, has more than 20 years of experience in project development, management, and evaluation. Her areas of expertise include rural health (community health needs assessment and planning; participatory research; agricultural health and safety, American Indian health and regional rural health collaborations); economic development; and community development. Ms. Lake’s ability to translate quantitative and qualitative data into actionable information for policy-makers and community leaders has earned her a reputation as a reliable and informative project partner and manager. She has worked with dozens of communities on community-based projects in the Midwest addressing health and local economic development issues.