Andrew Gothro

Andrew Gothro studies nutrition programs, focusing on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) policy and operations as well as school nutrition programs—especially direct certification for school meals benefits. He also works in the child welfare area, providing evaluation technical assistance to organizations developing new service models to combat homelessness among current and former foster youth.

Gothro helps lead an evaluation of the effects of demonstrations to directly certify students for free and reduced-price school meals based on income information in Medicaid data. The project will estimate effects on meal benefit access and participation. He evaluated demonstrations in two states that waived the SNAP eligibility interview, estimating changes in SNAP application and caseload outcomes. He previously coauthored four reports to Congress on direct certification in the National School Lunch Program and a series of reports describing current operations and best practices in direct certification for the program nationwide. Gothro helped lead an evaluation of demonstrations in elementary schools in four states to incorporate canned, frozen, and dried items into the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. In the child welfare area, he contributed to a conceptual framework for programs aimed at improving the lives and self-sufficiency of at-risk youth.

Before joining Mathematica, Gothro served in the U.S. Navy as an intelligence officer. He holds an M.P.P. from Georgetown University.