Emily Nordbeck (McDowell), M.S. is an education researcher, evaluator, and consultant with 10 years of experience leading projects and partnerships across K–12 and higher education. With expertise in mixed-methods program evaluation, she helps education agencies and community organizations use data and evidence to inform program design, implementation, and improvement efforts that advance student success and equity. 

In her consulting work, Emily provides strategic support across all phases of research and evaluation. She contributes to the design and refinement of studies—including the development of program theory tools and data collection instruments—and offers methodological and analytic feedback to strengthen rigor and alignment. Her recent work has also included grant writing and supporting the conceptualization and revision of reports and peer-reviewed publications.

Emily spent the past four years with the Utah Education Policy Center (University of Utah), where she led and supported multi-year evaluations and statewide initiatives focused on family and community engagement, community schools, out-of-school time, volunteerism, and early learning. In this role, she managed mixed-methods evaluations integrating surveys, interviews, focus groups, and student outcome data to produce findings that strengthened implementation and promoted continuous improvement. Before joining the UEPC, Emily worked at the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she led studies on the inclusion of youth with disabilities in educational and recreational settings. She is also the co-editor of Best Practices for Inclusive Camps (Sagamore-Venture, 2023).

Emily holds a Master of Science in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, with a concentration in Program Evaluation, from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Arts in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University. She is also a member of the American Evaluation Association and the Greater Boston Evaluation Network.