About Walt
I am a devoted husband of 20 years. We have 7-year-old who is at Hamilton Elementary. We have lived in the northwest portion of Troy for about 3.5 years.
I currently work for a local philanthropic foundation leading program evaluations of our investments into efforts to improve K-12 public education in the city of Detroit and across the state of Michigan. Before that, I was the Senior Director of Research and Data Science for Detroit Public Schools Community District after working for about 4 years each in the local nonprofit and academic sectors. I have been in the Detroit educational research space for over 10 years in the academic, nonprofit, public, and now philanthropic sectors.
My Experience
Program Evaluation Officer at a Local Philanthropic Foundation (2025-present)
In late 2025, I joined a local philanthropic foundation in Detroit that is committed to promoting educational reform through strategic, well-targeted investments intended to bring about system-level change. I manage program evaluations and research projects that inform resource allocations.
Senior Director of Research and Data Science at Detroit Public Schools Community District (2022-25)
In mid-2022, I joined the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) as their Senior Director of Research Data Science. From the ground up, I built a five-person team of data analysts and scientists to provide the District’s leadership with actionable insights based on data and research. My accomplishments at the District include:
- Advanced thinking on tiered interventions: My team’s research coming out of the pandemic helped refine our approach to tier 2 and tier 3 interventions, giving district leadership clearer direction on how to support students most effectively as well as which programs to continue.
- Evaluated the District’s COVID and Literacy Lawsuit initiatives: My work designing and managing the evaluation of the District’s two highest profile investments has been critical in understanding their impact and informing next steps.
- Deepened understanding of student success factors: My team’s research connecting attendance, academic achievement, and student engagement has directly shaped the District’s approach to school improvement strategy and provided a clearer identification of key levers for intervention and support.
Staff Researcher at Detroit PEER at Wayne State University (2019-22)
At the start of 2019, I returned to academia to work as an externally funded Staff Researcher at a research center that would later become known as Detroit PEER within the College of Education at Wayne State University. I co-authored numerous academic papers and presentations as well as helped design and conduct program evaluations such as 313Reads (early literacy interventions) and Every School Day Counts Detroit (addressing chronic absenteeism in the city). My research focuses were primarily focused on chronic absenteeism, early literacy interventions, and causes and consequences of school choice and mobility within the Detroit Metro region. This work led to five academic publications in peer-review journals and numerous presentations to academic conferences.
Educational Data and Research Manager at New Detroit, Inc. (2017-18)
Following the sunset ESD in June 2017, I joined New Detroit, Inc., a well-established local nonprofit dedicated to continue to support educational reform and racial justice in the city of Detroit as Educational Data and Research Manager. I supported the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren v2.0 with data and research to inform continued local advocacy efforts. I also conducted program evaluations and advised our primary funder on its future strategic educational investments, particularly around how to improve local data capacity and infrastructure.
Data and Research Manager at Excellent Schools Detroit (2015-17)
Following my studies at Michigan State University, I joined the non-profit local advocacy organization Excellent Schools Detroit (ESD) as Data and Research Manager to help improve Detroit’s educational systems. My three large bodies of work included:
1) Designing, improving, and maintaining a citywide scorecard (the ESD Scorecard) to help inform parents about their educational options;
2) Providing data and research to inform the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren, a local advocacy effort to return Detroit Public Schools to a locally elected school board after years of emergency management by the state of Michigan; and
3) Support various local non-profits with educational data and research.
These efforts contributed to the 2016 legislation that reorganized the Education Achievement Authority and Detroit Public Schools into the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which include a $617 million investment by the state in helping the new district succeed and payoff operational debt accrued during the years of state control.
My Education
Executive MBA (in progress), Quantic School of Technology and Business
To further my ability to succeed as a leader and manager, I am pursuing an Executive MBA from Quantic with specializations in finance and strategy. I expect to graduate in September 2026.
Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, Wayne State University
During the pandemic, I took advantage of tuition reimbursement for Wayne State employees and completed a four course graduate certificate in one year (2021).
PhD in Education Policy (Left ABD), Michigan State University
I completed all coursework and passed both preliminary and comprehensive exams, but left the program in good standing ABD (All But Dissertation) in Spring 2015. I would have completed doctoral specializations in Economics of Education and Community Engagement. Please see my FAQ – Personal for further details on this decision.
As Graduate Research Assistant, I contributed to what would become MISchoolData.org through my work cleaning data for the Michigan Consortium of Educational Research (MCER) in 2011. My other major research projects included the College Ambition Program (CAP) in 2012-13, and an Economics Department project that studied success factors for School Board Elections in Michigan from 2013-15.
Master’s of Arts in Economics, Michigan State University
I earned my Master’s degree in Economics from Michigan State University in 2013, with majors in Applied Econometrics and Labor Economics.
As a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Department in Economics (2010-11), I helped teach undergraduate Introduction to Econometrics, Law and Economics, and two sections of Senior Seminar (Public Policy and Sports Economics).
Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science, UC Davis
I completed my undergraduate degree in Political Science from UC Davis in 2005; however, my undergraduate studies began in 1998 at Saint Olaf College, a small liberal arts college in Northfield, MN. That is where I met my wife of over 20 years, Katie.