Kathleen Feeney

Kathleen Feeney, a senior survey researcher in Mathematica’s Human Services Division, has expertise in survey development and administration, qualitative data collection methods and analysis, and training and technical assistance for evaluations.

Since joining Mathematica in 2011, Feeney has worked on a range of projects in education, early childhood, family support, and disability. Currently, she is the project director on a Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic partnership with District of Columbia Public Schools, exploring how social and emotional learning and school climate survey data can inform decision making. Feeney has also served in multiple roles on the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES), the first nationally representative study of Region XI Head Start programs in tribal communities, since its inception in 2015. She currently serves as the deputy survey director of AIAN FACES, where she supports a workgroup that engages Native voices in designing and refining data collection, analysis, and dissemination strategies; trains data collection staff in cultural understanding and humility; and works with tribal Head Start programs to navigate local approvals for participation. Finally, she serves as the technical assistance lead to support an evaluation of a program that is culturally relevant and aims to promote child welfare in an Alaska Native community.

Through a focus on bidirectional learning, local capacity building, and including stakeholder voices in research design, Feeney hopes to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners to inform decision making and improve social services. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Swarthmore College.