Leah is a senior research scientist in NORC’s Economics, Justice and Society department. She has over 10 years of experience in applied research focused on improving public systems and programs for the well-being of children, youth, and families using administrative data analysis, program evaluation, and survey research. Her current research uses quantitative and mixed-methods designs to provide program administrators with the information they need to make decisions and improve services.

Before joining NORC, Leah was a senior researcher at Chapin Hall, where she served as project director of two five-year federally sponsored awards for research focused on public early care and education from 2018 to 2024. Her research portfolio included the mixed-methods study of Title IX sexual misconduct reporting in schools, an implementation evaluation of a therapeutic juvenile justice re-entry program, the randomized controlled trial of a college access and success program, and projects supporting state human services agencies to improve data use for decision-making. Leah’s work is informed by training in social work, law, and academic research as well as prior public sector experience with the Iowa Office of the Attorney General and Middleton Center for Children’s Rights, where she prepared child abuse registry and termination of parental rights cases, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, where she worked on early release programs and DNA collection.