Damian Bebell
For over 20 years, Dr. Damian Bebell has helped teachers, leaders, and policymakers leverage research and reflection to more effectively support technology-rich educational settings. As a research professor at Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Damian has worked with schools across the world to design and conduct research and evaluation studies to inform initiatives and evolve teaching and learning practices. Damian is a frequent speaker and author of numerous articles, book chapters, as well as The School Mission Statement (Routledge Press), showcasing how local vision can illuminate (or limit) efforts to measure success. As the founder of Reflective Educational Research, Damian has worked with thousands of classrooms to democratize access and use of research tools within educational programs and systems. Many of Damian’s past publications and previous research studies can be accessed freely on the Past Research page or on Research Gate.
Kayla Burt
Kayla “KB” Burt works in Institutional Research at MIT where she supports data-informed decision-making and institutional collaboration. She specializes in mixed-methods research, program evaluation, and translating data into actionable insights that enhance strategic planning and assessment. KB earned her master’s degree in Public Administration and Policy from American University and pursued further studies in Data Analytics at Boston College. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Information Science at University at Buffalo, and serves as co-chair of NCME’s Graduate Student Issues Committee. Her research explores how people interact with information and technology in educational settings. Blending perspectives from information behavior, information retrieval, and human–computer interaction, her research examines how digital platforms and algorithms shape social networks and influence decision-making in education.
Stephen Gyan
Stephen Gyan’s work is anchored in improvement science. He holds a master’s degree in Higher Education from Elon University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Ashesi University. Stephen’s research focuses on the behaviors of large systems and social networks, using evaluative and assessment inquiries to identify practices that enhance system performance and effectiveness. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment at Boston College. Alongside his PhD studies, he serves as a graduate researcher at the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. Before his doctoral studies, Stephen served as program manager for a higher education consortium in Africa where he advanced institutional partnerships, led impact evaluations, developed assessment frameworks, and contributed to the design of the first regional university ranking system on the continent.
Yimeng Zhou
Yimeng Zhou (Jo) is a graduate student in the M.S. Applied Statistics and Psychometrics program at the Lynch School of Edcuation and Human Development at Boston College. Her research interests focus on the integration of artificial intelligence and psychometric models in technology-assisted personalized learning and adaptive testing. She has worked as a research assistant on national projects examining the validity of large-scale English assessments and AI literacy among college educators, with an ongoing commitment to advancing equitable and data-driven assessment practices.
Samuel Fiorillo
Sam is a graduate of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and currently works in digital marketing. While he mainly manages the marketing efforts of small and midsize businesses, he also has a passion for data analysis, automation, design, and web development.
Christine Yang
Christine is a graduate of Boston College with a double major in linguistics and computer science. Since January of 2021, she's helped with developing the websites and dashboards for a number of projects for Reflective Educational Research including ALS, ARIS, and ADS.