Meet AIR’s Workforce Development Team

Samia Amin, Practice Area Director
Ms. Amin studies the impacts and implementation of labor and economic development programs to identify what works where, for whom, and why. She loves designing and assessing pilot programs and behavioral nudges; leading experimental, quasi-experimental and implementation studies, and evidence reviews to inform policy and practice; and building capacity among workforce practitioners for innovation. She brings expertise in employment training, self-employment assistance, dislocated and trade affected worker assistance, income support, worker safety, and retirement benefits programs.

 

Scott Davis, Principal Researcher
Dr. Davis leads research and evaluation projects focused on labor programs, including programs in both workforce development and worker protection. He has designed and implemented rigorous mixed-method evaluations of innovative programs aimed at improving collaboration among workforce system stakeholders, enhancing and creating occupational training programs, and developing a new labor exchange platform. His areas of expertise include research and evaluation design, quantitative methods, and major workforce investment and worker protection programs.

 

Mary Kay Dugan, Managing TA Consultant
Ms. Dugan is a managing technical assistant consultant at AIR. Her primary responsibilities include managing large-scale technical assistance and evaluation projects in the areas of workforce development and education. She has extensive experience in program evaluation and technical assistance study design and implementation analysis using mixed methods approaches.

 

Stephanie Cronen, Principal Researcher
Dr. Cronen studies the impacts and implementation of adult education programs and provides technical assistance on data and evaluation to assess performance and guide decision making. She enjoys conducting studies of all types with a focus on levers to improve the outcomes of low-skilled adults. Her expertise also includes measuring the attainment of subbaccalaureate occupational credentials, using data to improve training and support services for adult education students, and examining best practices in improving workplace diversity.

 

Anthony Adkisson, Principal TA Consultant
Dr. Adkisson brings over 20 years combined experience in workforce development, health and human services, and postsecondary instruction. He is experienced in the development and management of adult and youth comprehensive career pathway programming and is also a skilled facilitator in both virtual and in-person learning environments with diverse audiences of learners. He has a passion for working with community-based programs and assisting them in using best practices and research to improve their outcomes. At AIR, Dr. Adkisson’s work across several projects focuses on customer-centered design and improving business engagement practices for Job Corps centers. 

 

Amanda Ahlstrand, Managing Director
Ms. Ahlstrand works to bring policy, practice, and research together through her projects at AIR. She enjoys working with teams to deliver technical assistance, mixed methods research, and evaluation services to clients on a diverse set of workforce development topics, including building partnerships, developing systems, career pathways, work-based learning, unemployment insurance, youth workforce development, and WIOA governance. Her areas of expertise include federal policy and program administration, strategic planning, and translation of research to practice.

 

Lynn Bajorek, Principal TA Consultant
Ms. Bajorek works closely with state and regional workforce system clients to design and deliver strategic planning, change management, and technical assistance and training solutions that directly address their unique workforce development system challenges and opportunities. Examples include facilitation of strategic planning for state and local workforce development boards; development of training and resources for effective policy development; system and program monitoring and oversight, and development of high-impact workforce boards, sector strategies, apprenticeship, and career pathways.

 

Chris Herzog, Principal TA Consultant
Ms. Herzog leads technical assistance projects focused on unemployment insurance, apprenticeship, sector strategies, and career pathways. She loves translating the findings of rigorous research and evaluation into actionable steps for implementation at the regional, state, and federal level. Her expertise includes development of blended learning strategies and platforms, strategic planning for multi-agency collaborative projects, business engagement, human-centered design, and continuous improvement.

 

Heinrich Hock, Principal Economist
Dr. Hock develops insights to inform public investments in education and labor supports to help youth and adults build the skills they need for work, additional learning, and self-sufficiency. He is passionate about identifying solutions that can improve the outcomes of underserved groups. He leads rigorous research to understand the viability and effectiveness of programs and services related to career readiness, job training, unemployment support, disability employment, adult education.

 

Amy Young, Principal TA Consultant
Ms. Young leads technical assistance projects focused on apprenticeship and other areas of workforce development. She is an accomplished program manager with over 20 years of experience designing complex technical assistance initiatives, directing large-scale projects, and leading successful teams that achieve results for clients. She enjoys designing and delivering high-impact technical assistance and training that supports practitioners and policymakers. Her recent work has primarily focused on effective strategies for growing apprenticeship as a talent development solution in the United States.

 

Senior Advisors

Harry Holzer, Institute Fellow
Dr. Holzer is a nationally recognized expert in economic and workforce research. For over 30 years, he has contributed significantly to the national discourse on employment, urban poverty and social policy. His research has focused on the low-wage labor market, the problems of minority workers in urban areas, the quality of jobs and workers in the labor market, and how job quality affects the employment prospects of the disadvantaged, as well as worker inequality and insecurity more broadly. He has also written extensively about the employment problems of disadvantaged men, advancement prospects for the working poor, and workforce policy more broadly.

 

Hans Bos, Senior Vice President
Dr. Bos is an expert in large-scale experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation projects for a wide range of federal, state, and local agencies and foundations. His evaluation expertise spans a wide range of topic areas, including workforce development, welfare reform, adult education and youth development. Dr. Bos has studied job training programs for economically disadvantaged youth, welfare to work programs, workforce programs for adult workers, regional economic development innovation grants, and programs supporting high school to college transitions for low-income high school students.