Strategic Data Project
The Strategic Data Project
Since 2008, the Strategic Data Project (SDP) has partnered with school districts, charter school networks, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations to bring high-quality research methods and data analysis to bear on strategic management and policy decisions. Its mission is to transform the use of data in education to improve student achievement. SDP believes that if we bring together the right people, assemble the right data, and perform the right analysis, we can help leaders make better decisions—ultimately improving student achievement significantly.
To make this happen, SDP pursues three strategies:
- Strengthen Analytic Capacity
Place and support data strategists in partner organizations who will influence policy at the local, state, and national levels - Uncover New Insights through Applied Research
Create policy- and management-relevant analyses for districts and states - Support Network Growth and Improved Decision-Making
Transform the way data is used in the education sector through broad dissemination of analytic tools, methods, and best practices
Data Fellowship
The SDP Data Fellowship is a two-year program that develops PK12 and Higher Education data leaders to strengthen the capacity of the field to use data for improvement.
We find and train fellows to advance strategic initiatives, uncover valuable insights, and build a strong data culture in partner organizations.
SDP Professional Learning
The SDP Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Data Community of Practice
The SDP Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Data Community of Practice is a grant-funded two-year program that develops IFS MSI data leaders in their analytic, research, and decision-making skills, while crafting a community of practice to share the unique successes, advancements, and challenges of their institutional context.
In the News
Schools Must Do the Hard Work If High-Dosage Tutoring Is to Help Every Student
There is a temptation in education to abandon projects rapidly and instead chase a new solution as a magic bullet for improving student outcomes. Too often, when an investment doesn’t have an instant payoff, it’s abandoned for the next shiny thing. New...
High-Dosage Tutoring Can Make a Real Difference. Harvard's Strategic Data Project Wants to Help Districts Make the Most Of It
The Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR)’s Strategic Data Project has released a new toolkit to help bring effective high-dosage tutoring to students around the country. “Measure, Monitor, Improve: Data Tools for Understanding High-Dosage Tutoring...
As states take lead in fixing U.S. schools, Harvard will serve as a hub
When it comes to American public education, states wield a lot of power over policy — lately, more than they have in decades. But that influence isn’t always accompanied by insight. Sometimes, despite valiant efforts, superintendents and commissioners...
Helping Others Find Their Path
Read Harvard Graduate School of Education's profile of Harvard Strategic Data Project and PIER fellow alumnus Salman Khan, whose work helping students apply to college, researching universal FAFSA policies, and building community on campus have made a...
South Bend Community School Corporation to receive 2025 Strategic Data Excellence Award from Harvard’s Strategic Data Project
BOSTON, May 8, 2025—The Strategic Data Project (SDP) at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University announced South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) as the winner of the 2025 Strategic Data Excellence Award. The award...
Do Early Warning Systems Work? Measuring Impact to Improve Student Attendance in Pasco County
“On their own, early warning systems only give us a certain type of information. Data can show where there is a problem with attendance, but it doesn’t really tell us how to solve it.” - Yusuf Canbolat Chronic absenteeism was a stubborn challenge before...
Meet the SDP Team
Sarah Blake
sarah_blake@gse.harvard.eduFellowship Manager, Strategic Data Project
Sarah is a Fellowship Manager for the Strategic Data Project (SDP), focusing on bringing high-quality programming and support to our Postsecondary Fellowship and Institute offerings. Before joining the SDP team as a senior program coordinator in 2023...
Gavrielle "Gavi" Enriquez
gavrielle_enriquez@gse.harvard.eduOutreach Assistant, Strategic Data Project (SDP)
Gavi is an Outreach Assistant for the Strategic Data Project (SDP), supporting fellowship and partnership outreach and recruitment efforts. Gavi began her career as an AmeriCorps member at a nonprofit out-of-school time organization in Portland, Maine...
Miriam Greenberg
miriam_greenberg@gse.harvard.eduSenior Director, Strategic Data Project
Miriam is the Senior Director of the Strategic Data Project overseeing the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University's efforts to build and sustain data-driven leadership and research capacity in education systems and organizations. She...
Alison (Segal) Guerriero
alison_segal@gse.harvard.eduAssociate Director, Strategic Data Project Outreach and Partnerships
As the associate director, Strategic Data Project outreach and partnerships, Alison Guerriero leads SDP partner relationships and fellowship recruitment and selection, and informs CEPR internal organizational planning. Prior to CEPR, Alison worked at...
Lydia Killos
Senior Advisor, Special Projects
Dr. Lydia F. Killos is a Senior Advisor for Special Projects at CEPR, where she develops and maintains research partnerships between educational organizations and Strategic Data Project (SDP) fellows. She leads multi-site evaluations, designs impactful...
Regina Kinney
regina_kinney@gse.harvard.eduSenior Project Coordinator, Strategic Data Project
Regina is a Senior Project Coordinator for the Strategic Data Project at CEPR. She is responsible for supporting the programs team with coordinating the SDP PK12 fellowship program and all their events. Regina earned her bachelor’s in Writing, Literature...
Mary Levine
Outreach Manager, Strategic Data Project (SDP)
Mary is the Outreach Manager for the Strategic Data Project (SDP), focusing on recruitment and selection of fellows and partners. She brings recruitment and partnership-building experience from her work with the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium and...
Sofía Marin
Higher Education Program Coordinator, Strategic Data Project
Sofía is the new Higher Education Program Coordinator for the Strategic Data Project at CEPR. She graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Sociology with honors and a minor in Political Science. While at BU, she worked as a Program Coordinator in...
Rebecca Marshall
rebecca_marshall@gse.harvard.eduAssociate Director of Programs, SDP
Rebecca is the Associate Director of Programs for the Strategic Data Project at the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University. In this role, she manages the Strategic Data Project Fellowship, which works with education agencies to...
Yemi Olorunippa
K-12 Program Coordinator, Strategic Data Project
Yemi is the K-12 Program Coordinator for the Strategic Data Project, supporting the planning and implementation of SDP’s K–12 fellowship program. He brings experience working with students and teachers at many stages of their educational journeys, from...
Robert Pollard
robert_pollard@gse.harvard.eduNetwork Engagement Manager, Strategic Data Project
Robert is the Network Engagement Manager for the Strategic Data Project (SDP), responsible for SDP's talented and growing fellowship alumni network. Robert joined the SDP team in 2015 and spent eight years working to coordinate, support, and facilitate...
Juda Smack
juda_smack@gse.harvard.eduHigher Education Program Manager, Strategic Data Project
Juda is Higher Education Program Manager for the Strategic Data Project at CEPR. He graduated from Swarthmore College where he received a B.A. in Gender and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Black Studies. During his time at Swarthmore College, Juda...
