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| Morgan Lyons, Ph.D., President |
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Morgan founded Lodestar in 1985. He has directed and conducted applied research projects and advised organizations on program development for over two decades. His recent work concentrates on programs that provide services in the fields of mentoring, criminal justice and education, including a lead role in constructing outcome evaluation instruments in the fields of mentoring and career development. Morgan also engages in organizational and policy research and management assistance to non-profit organizations and is involved in many of the Lodestar project teams as director, technical consultant or reviewer. He has served on a number of nonprofit boards and advisory groups. He is currently Chair of the Angeles Plaza Senior Activity Center Advisory Council and the Central Los Angeles Community-Police Advisory Board. Morgan received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, concentrating in quantitative research and social psychology. He has given presentations on research-related topics to national and local conferences and written for both academic and practitioner publications. |
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| Maura Harrington, MBA, Ph.D., Vice President of Consulting Services and Senior Researcher |
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As Director of Consulting Services, Maura is responsible for developing and delivering Lodestar’s research and strategic planning consultations to private foundations, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Maura also provides research direction to Lodestar project teams. She conducts evaluations, organizational research, workshops and management consulting in areas that include youth development, domestic violence, health promotion and public health, organizational partnerships and leadership development. For more than 15 years, she has worked with managers and employees to improve operational and program effectiveness, client satisfaction and staff performance. Maura received her doctorate from Claremont Graduate School in Applied Research in the Department of Psychology and her MBA from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management. She is an active member of the American Evaluation Association and chairs its Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group. Maura also currently serves as a member of the City of Pasadena’s Human Services Commission. |
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| Alfonso Martin, Research Assistant |
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| Alfonso provides assistance on several projects collecting, managing, and analyzing data, translating instruments into Spanish, as well as providing administrative support to project managers. Since his arrival at Lodestar, he has put his native fluency in Spanish to work conducting focus groups, group surveys and interviews for projects. While completing his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, Alfonso conducted a qualitative research project in which he looked at the discrimination among Latino day laborers in the Bay Area, and presented his research findings at the 2005 Annual California McNair Scholars Symposium. |
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| Andrew Wainer, MA, Research Associate |
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| Andrew’s responsibilities at Lodestar include research design and management, data collection and analysis, and report conceptualization and drafting. He is involved in Lodestar’s school readiness case studies, evaluation of healthcare system reform for low income populations, and program evaluation inside the California’s state correctional system. Prior to joining Lodestar, Andrew led and participated in a variety of local, state, and national public policy and program evaluation projects with particular emphases on education, youth, and immigration issues. Andrew is fluent in Spanish and received his master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles and his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. |
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| Crystal Coker, MA, Research Assistant |
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| Ms. Coker provides project support for several projects including data collection, management and analysis. Prior to joining Lodestar, Ms. Coker conducted research in education and health psychology where she gained skills in quantitative and qualitative research. In addition to research, Ms. Coker has worked on evaluations of educational programs and reform initiatives. She received her master's degree in Psychology from New York University and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine. |
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| David Fabienke, MPP, Research Associate |
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| David’s research has focused on areas related to the welfare of ethnic minority communities, including studies on inter-ethnic relations, health insurance coverage, higher education access, traffic safety and workforce management. His responsibilities include research design, data collection and analysis, and specialized project support. He has significant experience with both quantitative and qualitative research, including designing, coordinating, and moderating focus groups. David holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science/Comparative Politics with a minor in Middle East Studies from the University of California, San Diego. |
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| Jeniffer DeLara Vallejo, Project Associate |
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As Project Associate, Jeniffer conducts field work for a variety of Lodestar projects, including leading community focus groups and conducting interviews. Jeniffer provides translations for Lodestar research instruments, protocols and other Spanish language communication. She is a key member on Lodestar’s criminal justice projects, to which she provides project management, client services, oversees databases and produces trainings and presentations. In addition, Jeniffer manages Lodestar operations including fiscal, personnel, contract and vendor relations. Jeniffer is currently working towards completing her degree in Criminal Justice. |
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| Loraine Park, MSW, Research Associate |
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| Loraine provides research support for Lodestar projects concerned with early education, youth development and health. Her previous professional experience is with qualitative and quantitative research, primarily in education and child welfare. In addition, Ms. Park has direct experience with programs that serve children and families including working as an elementary school teacher. Loraine holds a master's degree in Social Welfare with an emphasis in management and planning from the University of California, Berkeley, where she also received her bachelor's degree in Sociology. |
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| Sae Lee, Ph.D., Research Associate |
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| Sae is involved in the evaluation of after-school and early childhood education programs, and conducting community needs assessments. She offers skills in both quantitative and qualitative research. Prior to joining Lodestar, she managed multiple evaluation projects funded by local and federal agencies in the areas of substance use and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, child abuse/neglect prevention, early childhood and education, and professional development training programs in education. She has conducted research on the impact of culture on the development of delinquent behaviors in adolescents. Sae received her doctorate from Claremont Graduate University in Applied Developmental Psychology and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has given presentations on research and evaluation related topics in both national and local conferences. |
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