Melissa is a senior research director in the Health Sciences department at NORC at the University of Chicago. She has extensive experience in data collection management and data quality monitoring for in-person and web surveys, including for hard-to-reach populations such as teens and sexual and gender minorities. In addition, Melissa currently leads recruitment and implementation for AHRQ’s Safety Program for Telemedicine.
Melissa has managed multiple projects with adolescents for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including TAPS, a dyad survey of adolescents and their parents, and CovEx, a survey about the impact of COVID-19 on youth 5-19. She also led work with the Division of Violence Prevention to modernize the Dating Matters program to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ youth, and led the analytic program for START, a survey of adolescent men who have sex with men and transgender youth using social media for recruitment. Adding to her social media expertise, Melissa was project director for the Using Social Media for Recruitment in Cancer Prevention and Control Survey-Based Research Project, a series of surveys on cancer risk and preventive screening and testing using Facebook and Google for recruitment.
Melissa has co-authored papers and presentations on survey topics such as adolescent mental health, sexual orientation and gender development, physical measures data quality, and social media recruitment. Prior to NORC, she worked in school- and community-based health programs.
Quick Links
Education
MPH
University of Illinois-Chicago
BA
Vanderbilt University
Publications
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WATCH: Jim Neumeister on Equity-Focused Education Research
August 28, 2024
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Live Crime Tracker Shows Major Crime Declines in First Half of 2024 with Local Variability
Press Release | August 26, 2024
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City-Funded Preschool Helps Alleviate Shortage, Improves Child & Family Outcomes
NORC Article | August 22, 2024
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U.S. History Teachers Report Little Outside Interference Despite Political Polarization
NORC Article | August 19, 2024
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“Evaluation of Pennsylvania Community Violence Intervention Programs: PCCD VIP Grants Survey Report”
Project Report | August 15, 2024
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“Evaluation of Pennsylvania Community Violence Intervention Programs - PCCD VIP Grants Survey Report: Executive Summary”
Project Report | August 15, 2024
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NORC Evaluation Finds City-Funded Preschool Helps Alleviate Shortage, Improves Child & Family Outcomes
Press Release | August 12, 2024
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WATCH: Susan Paddock on AI & Equity
August 7, 2024