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Dr. Jessica Thornton Walker is an accomplished researcher and the leader of Abt’s quantitative methods team who brings 20 years of experience designing and implementing policy-relevant research. She is a recognized expert in large-scale, multi-site evaluations to assess the impacts of social policies and programs in housing and homelessness, child welfare, adolescent risk-taking behaviors, and substance use.In her role as the Quantitative Methods Lead, Dr. Walker is responsible for the management, staffing, budgeting, solutioning, and strategy that guides the work of 120 quantitative research staff and ensures Abt provides high-quality technical delivery and innovative solutions tailored to clients.

Godfrey Sanga is a clean energy engineer with 20 years of experience in projects design and implementation in Africa, focusing on products market development, capacity strengthening, financing, and advocacy. He has a combination of technical, economic, environmental, and social skills and experience in energy access and productive uses for different target markets including households, enterprises, and social institutions. He has led regional organizations, directed, and managed teams and projects, and served as advisor for donor-funded, publicly funded, and privately funded projects. Godfrey has worked with international organizations including USAID and Power Africa, Energy 4 Impact, Mercy Corps, and Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Carolynn Poulsen is the Director of Abt’s Global Health Security Account. She has nearly 20 years of experience overseeing the design and implementation of global health programs focusing on infectious disease and health systems strengthening. Poulsen is fluent in French and Spanish and has supported the delivery of effective global health solutions in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Hanna Kovalova is a program manager with 15 years of experience managing humanitarian aid and development programs in Ukraine, with a recent focus on the eastern part of the country ravaged by the war with Russia. She has worked with international organizations, including the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations, as well as social enterprises. Kovalova’s work with vulnerable populations has centered around gender equality, non-discrimination, conflict sensitivity, and social inclusion. She has extensive experience with monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning approaches; program management; and communication strategies in public health, mental health, and community stabilisation.

Shelley Martin is a sustainable development advisor with a background in women and youth empowerment social entrepreneurship and innovation. Her work has engaged local and global organizations in numerous sectors across 15+ countries, spanning agriculture, land rights, finance, entrepreneurship, clean energy, STEM, infrastructure, manufacturing and garment and consumer goods.

Dr. Zarrar Khan brings over a decade of experience in climate and energy modeling and advancing sustainable energy solutions, climate mitigation, and resilience initiatives worldwide. He has worked in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to help transform groundbreaking research into tangible global impact. Khan has played pivotal roles in developing national climate strategies, enhancing local capacities, and fostering lasting stakeholder relationships. His collaborative efforts to address complex challenges include working with the World Bank, Green Climate Fund, World Resources Institute, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of State (DOS), and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Khan’s scholarly work has been cited over 600 times, demonstrating his impact on global climate resilience and policy development.

Dr. Matthew Finster is a principal researcher with 15 years of experience working in education and educational policy research. His expertise lies in providing technical assistance on educational research and program implementation, which often focuses on improving educator effectiveness and student outcomes. He has significant experience working with federal education grantees, state education agencies, local education agencies, and schools on building their capacity to implement their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans. He is also the author of numerous articles and technical reports centered around education and human capital management that have appeared in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, Journal of Education Human Resources, and other notable publications.

Dr. Rebecca McGill-Wilkinson is an education researcher with two decades of experience designing and implementing evaluation and research projects. She has extensive expertise in a broad range of impact and implementation evaluation approaches, including quasi-experimental designs, randomized control trials, survey design and analysis methods, systematic evidence reviews, and measure development. Her work includes evaluations of federal education policies, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). With a background in developmental psychology, she has contributed to systematic evidence reviews for both the Administration of Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Education. McGill-Wilkinson is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on a range of topics and has delivered over 40 conference presentations and invited talks in academic and practice settings and is a prolific blog author.

Benny Kil is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified scrum master (CSM) with over 15 years of project and product management experience—working in business analysis and project delivery in the federal, state, and commercial areas with a focus on technology and digital processes. He has experience in leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver client requirements using agile methodologies (scrum and kanban). 

Katharine Witgert is a health policy researcher with 20 years of public health and health care policy experience. Witgert manages research and analysis of health system innovations, conducting program evaluations for federal clients, including design, implementation, and reporting of findings. She provides technical assistance to state officials, primarily in the areas of Medicaid reforms and building Medicaid agency partnerships with public health, behavioral health, and social services programs.