ELRC Directory

Willie Burgess, M.S.

Director

BRNG 6108
Phone: (765) 494-0668
wburgess@purdue.edu

As an interdisciplinary researcher, professional evaluator, and director of the Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC), Willie has over 30 years of experience developing and evaluating formal and informal education programs and methodologies for a variety of audiences. Her current work focuses on innovations that improve learning, well-being, and personal or organizational development. Inspired by her Ecology background, Willie uses a context-centered approach to research and evaluation that strives to understand not only what works, but why it works, for whom, and under what conditions. For example, Willie is currently leading a USAID-funded multinational team that is examining the effect of primary education models on diverse population of learners in Somalia. Results from this evaluation will inform USAID programming and Somalia Ministry of Education policy. The ELRC collaborates with faculty in all colleges across campus, as well as Colleges and Universities, Foundations, Government Agencies, and NGOs, both domestically and internationally. Currently, ELRC is a partner on Federal awards to Purdue totaling more than $48 million, including support from NSF, NIH, USDA, HRSA, USAID, and the U.S. Department of Education. ELRC also partners with external entities on projects funded by HHMI, Gates Foundation, Lumina, and many other sources.
 
Willie arrived in West Lafayette from Pennsylvania (with a detour in Southern California) over 30 years ago. She enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking, winemaking (and drinking), and watching the ever-changing face of Lake Michigan from the bluff near her vacation cottage in Michigan.

Loran Carleton Parker, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Principal Evaluation & Research Scholar

Loran has over 15 years of experience in education research and evaluation and has worked with projects funded by a wide array of public and private organizations, including NSF, NIH, CDC, U.S. DOE, USDA, USAID, DHHS, Lily Endowment, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kresge Foundation, and Lumina Foundation. Loran’s interests are using participatory evaluation approaches to learn about how to build, develop and sustain learning communities working toward social justice. At ELRC, she does this by identifying partners who aim to advance social justice and equity, facilitating the framing of the work in learning theory, identifying ways in which progress might be monitored, evaluated, and interpreted, and developing processes through which stakeholders at all levels and circumstances can be included in the work.

Loran enjoys the outdoors and any athletic activity—running, cycling, hiking, climbing, and kayaking. She bleeds old gold and black—she has three degrees from Purdue. She lives just west of campus with her husband, two children and small zoo of pets.

Ann Bessenbacher

Senior Research Associate, Lead Data Scientist

Ann has spent over 20 years on data analysis, management, and visualization as well as program evaluation and the creation of education programs. She has served as primary data scientist for projects funded by a wide array of public and private organizations, including NSF, NIH, CDC, U.S. DOE, USDA, USAID, DHHS, Lily Endowment, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kresge Foundation, and Lumina Foundation resulting in numerous data products and publications. Ann has also served as the administrator and technology steward for STEMEdhub since it was created in 2011 enabling the building and fostering of various communities of practice including the LASER PULSE (Long-term Assistance and SErvices for Research, Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) Higher Education Institution Network.
 
Ann met her husband as an undergraduate student at Purdue 27 years ago and they now live with their two teenagers on a small hobby farm West of campus.  She spends her free time reading, watching Korean dramas on Netflix, gardening, and baking. 

Lindley McDavid, Ph.D.

Senior Evaluation and Research Associate

In her work, she draws from social psychology perspectives to develop research and evaluation programs focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, institutional change in higher education, and in the promotion of overall well-being across the life-span. Lindley’s research program centers on how contexts support individual well-being to foster personal growth, motivation, and behavior change. She uses universal psychological tenants to design evaluation protocols focused on systems of change that support desirable intra- and inter-personal, and organizational well-being through positive social interactions. She challenges partners to consider the range of influences from the individual to the larger cultural context to develop actionable evidence-based plans for intervention to understand and promote lasting change. Lindley applies advanced statistical methods including longitudinal growth models, multilevel models and other structural equation modeling methods, and qualitative research methods as fitting for each project.

Kyle Habig

Data Research Assistant

Kyle Habig is an associate data analyst for the Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC). Kyle completed his undergraduate work at Purdue University in 2019 with a degree in mathematics and is now pursuing a master’s degree in IT. Kyle met his wife during his undergraduate years at Purdue, and they now have both worked for Purdue for three years. Kyle likes to spend his free time playing video games, spending time outside, and listening to music. 

Alex France

Research and Evaluation Associate

As an assistant evaluator and researcher for the ELRC he specializes in qualitative data collection and analysis. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science and management from Indiana University in 2013 and developed a specialization in sociology, which he uses as a lens for interpretation in his work. In his personal time, Alex pursues his intellectual interests through reading and podcasts and often hikes to enjoy nature.

Jennifer Sdunzik, Ph.D.

Post-Doctoral Research Associate

As an interdisciplinary scholar, she uses a combination of archival, geospatial (GIS), and ethnographic research methods to understand legacies of cross-cultural issues at local and global scales. Her first book, The Geography of Hate: The Great Migration through Small-Town America (University of Illinois Press, forthcoming in 2023), investigates how the small-town Midwest engaged the demographic and cultural shifts that came with the Great Migration in the twentieth century, uncovering a plethora of longstanding exclusionary attitudes and policies in Indiana. Her scholarly contributions in the fields of race and ethnic studies, activism, and education, have been published in a variety of interdisciplinary and education journals, including Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Social Education, and Professional Development in Education. She has extensive experience implementing and managing stakeholder engagement initiatives and encouraging intercultural dialogues towards fostering societal wellbeing at local and global scales.

Jennifer loves languages and cultures, evidenced by the fact that she speaks five languages and has lived across three continents. It was also through her time in India that she discovered her passion for earrings – the bigger and brighter, the better.

Laura Warner

Administrative Assistant

BRNG 6108
Phone: (765) 494-6717
lawarner@purdue.edu

Laura has been working with ELRC since 2010 and really enjoys providing support for such an amazing group of researchers. She and her husband of 37 years are getting used to being empty nesters with just the chickens and the dogs. She loves spending time with her 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren and in her spare time, she enjoys hiking, biking, sewing, and reading.

Lukas Ingersoll, PhD 

Research Associate

Luke received his Ph.D. in Public Health from Purdue University and was the first doctoral graduate from the department. His work focuses on communication between clinicians and patients at the end of life and how high-quality communication can reduce suffering and improve quality of life until the end. Additionally, he helped design and implement an intercultural development program to increase health-focused undergraduate students’ Cultural Intelligence (CQ). Through this program, he helped develop and evaluate an intensive semester course. Moreover, he designed and implemented study abroad programs in over six countries. Luke wants to use mixed methods approaches to triangulate data to reduce unnecessary suffering and produce student-centered research. 

Damilola Seyi-Oderinde, PhD

Research Associate

Damilola earned her Ph.D. in Psychology of Education from the University of the Free State, South Africa and has almost a decade of experience working in various capacities within the higher education industry. As a Lecturer at Ekiti State University, Nigeria, she led and collaborated with other faculties to publish empirical, theoretical, and mixed-methodological research on topics such as mental health, emotional intelligence, and self-efficacy.
Her research is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on insights from various fields to gain a more nuanced understanding of human behavior, organizations, and processes. Damilola is passionate about using research and evaluation frameworks to promote individual and community well-being, and to develop just, equitable, and evidence-based solutions to socio-educational problems. Her work is informed by the belief that research and evaluation outcomes should lead to transformation, empowerment, and social justice.
Outside of her work, Damilola enjoys spending time with her family, hosting friends, and working out at the gym.