Mayra Sandoval

Mayra Sandoval specializes in qualitative and implementation research on programs and policies that advance educational and economic equity. Her research focuses on secondary and postsecondary education, with an emphasis on college access and success.

Since joining Mathematica in 2019, Sandoval has worked on a range of projects in early childhood, adult education, secondary and postsecondary education, and criminal justice. She has led multiple qualitative data collection and analysis efforts for foundation and federal clients. For the U.S. Department of Education study Assessing Evidence of Effectiveness in Adult Education, she developed interview protocols, led several interviews with program directors, and assisted with analyses leading to a feasibility report. On several projects for the Gates Foundation, she has led qualitative data collection, evidence reviews, logic model development and a learning agenda focused on their postsecondary success portfolio. She also led formative learning cycles, including conducting and analyzing interviews and site visits with university partners, to inform Lumina Foundation’s continuous learning on the Partnerships for Adult Learner Success Initiative. Past projects also include leading the implementation study design and analysis for a computer science intervention in high school and qualitative data collection and analysis for a study on violence prevention policies for youth and young adults in the City of Oakland. Sandoval is also a certified reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse.

Sandoval’s work is motivated by her experience growing up in an immigrant community in Los Angeles and being the first person in her family to graduate from college. Before joining Mathematica, Sandoval was a research intern at the Consortium on Financing Higher Education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she conducted institutional research for 35 universities and colleges across the United States. She holds an M.Ed. in higher education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in sociology and economics from Pitzer College.