Leigh Parise

With more than two decades of experience in education and social policy, Leigh Parise plays a key role in the development of new projects and strategic initiatives that span MDRC’s policy areas. Parise helps to lead MDRC’s priority-setting efforts across the research, policy, and funding landscapes, collaborating with partners and colleagues to build and apply evidence that improves people’s lives. Within MDRC, she works with fellow research and evidence-to-practice specialists to nurture important work and help expand its impact. In addition, she oversees MDRC’s grants management and partnerships with funders, helping to advance projects and priorities that drive improvements in programs, services, and outcomes. 

Parise is an educational research and policy expert, a mixed-methods researcher, and host of MDRC’s Evidence First podcast, which dives into the best available evidence about strategies for enhancing economic opportunity across a range of policy areas. Parise has led numerous MDRC projects, including large-scale randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and descriptive studies, as well as projects focused on helping practitioners apply evidence to best serve their communities. For example, Parise led the implementation research on MDRC’s Evaluation of the P-TECH 9-14 model, a career pathway model that begins in high schools and extends into postsecondary education and the workforce.

Before joining MDRC, Parise began her career as an elementary school teacher and later co-founded Classroom Champions, a nonprofit organization that has expanded internationally to empower children to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally through the mentorship and mindset of world-class athletes. Parise holds a B.A. in history and sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in teaching from Pace University, and a Ph.D. in human development and social policy from Northwestern University.