EERC Staff: Who We Are

Michelle Van Noy is the Director of the Education and Employment Research Center at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has over 20 years of experience conducting research on education and workforce. Her research includes studies of technician education, community college noncredit education, student decision making about majors and careers, quality in non-degree credentials, higher education labor market alignment, and effective practices in workforce education. 

Before joining EERC, Dr. Van Noy conducted research on community college workforce education at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers and the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has experience conducting large-scale national evaluations in education and workforce development from her previous work at Mathematica Policy Research. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology and education from Columbia University, a M.S. in public policy from Rutgers, and a B.A. in psychology and Spanish from Rutgers.

Tracy Cangiano is a Program Coordinator at EERC. As such, she is responsible for program and project coordination and administration. Tracy has a B.A. from Rutgers University.

India Caster is a Research Assistant at EERC. In addition to her role, she is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Human Resource Management at Rutgers University - School of Management and Labor Relations. India also obtained her B.A. from Rutgers University - New Brunswick, in Human Resource Management with a minor in Psychology.

Dr. Maria L. Espino is newly minted PhD in the Higher Education Administration Program from Iowa State University. Her dissertation explored how Latin* first-generation, low-income early college high school graduates are transitioning to a four-year institution. She obtained her Master’s degree in Educational Policy and Leadership at Marquette University and her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a double major in Community and Nonprofit Leadership and Gender and Women studies. As a qualitative researcher, she explores (in)equities in higher education particularly focusing on the experiences of marginalized students. As a scholar and a student advocate, she believes that it is important to not only conduct research, it is crucial to humanize, empower, and support the community.

Alysa is a Ph.D. Student, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management and a researcher with EERC.

Diya Patel is a Research Assistant at the Education and Employment Research Center. She is currently a junior at the Rutgers Business School majoring in Business Analytics and Information Technology. In her role as research assistant, she supports research on management approaches, worker skills, and productivity in the U.S. manufacturing sector, gathering and analyzing data from industry contacts to identify trends and challenges. In the future, Diya plans to work in the data analytics field.

Parthavi Patel is an undergraduate at the School of Management and Labor Relations. She studies HR, Psychology, and Labor Studies. She is interested in economic development and educational outcomes for students and is excited about the work she is involved in at the EERC. Parthavi hopes to pursue graduate school in the future.

Eliza Peterson is a Researcher with the Education and Employment Research Center. She is a graduate of the Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences, earning her B.A. in American Studies in 2022. Her senior thesis “‘Meet Me Behind the Mall’: Reassessing the Social and Cultural Value of the American Shopping Mall” earned the Henry Rutgers Scholar Award and departmental honors. A portion of her thesis was published in the Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal. In 2023, she earned her M.Ed. in Secondary Social Studies Education. Eliza has been on the EERC team since June 2020, where she has contributed to several studies and evaluations on topics like student decision making, workforce programs, and other topics within the world of community college education. Her research interests lie at the intersections between K-12 education, community colleges, workforce programming, and labor. 

Melissa Quaal is Unit Administrator for the Education and Employment Research Center. She obtained her Master's degree in Public Policy with a concentration in Community Development at the Bloustein School at Rutgers University and her Bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Economics and Social Work. As an administrator with a background in research on workforce development as well as the impact of poverty, Melissa is dedicated to uncovering the ways in which educational institutions can ameliorate poverty and develop pathways to greater equality.   

Rohan Shah is a research assistant at the Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) and a student at Rutgers Business School, majoring in Computer Science and Finance. In this role, he supports research on management approaches, worker skills, and productivity in the U.S. manufacturing sector, gathering and analyzing data from industry contacts to identify trends and challenges. Rohan also attends project meetings, collaborates with senior researchers, and maintains detailed records in Excel to contribute to comprehensive study reports.

Justin Vinton is a faculty Research Associate at the Education and Employment Research Center at the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He studies labor and employment relations with a primary focus on worker voice and representation, skill provision and credentials, labor-management collaboration, and workforce and economic development. His current work examines the role of community colleges and other postsecondary training providers in economic development, and their growing coordination with employers, students, and other stakeholders to improve program implementation and data collection (both degree and non-degree). His other work focuses on the voice and complex roles of labor-management partnership stakeholders in US public education and healthcare. 

Justin has taught numerous undergraduate courses, including Diversity and Inclusion at Work, Intro to Labor and Employment Relations, Youth and Work, and other related courses in labor relations and economics. He received his PhD from the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations in January 2024.

Tarama Yakubu is a senior at Rutgers University, double majoring in Human Resources and Labor Studies. As a Research Assistant at the Rutgers Employment and Economic Research Center (EERC), she supports labor research initiatives by analyzing data, conducting literature reviews, and contributing to projects on workforce development and economic policy. Tarama is passionate about labor equity and uses her research skills to explore issues affecting workers and employment trends. 

Dr. Elisabeth Barnett is a Research Affiliate with the Education and Employment Research Center at Rutgers University. She also serves as Senior Research Scholar Emeritus at the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University and is a Professor of Practice with the John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership at Kansas State University. Dr. Barnett’s research interests relate to workforce education, access to college, student assessment and placement, college culture, student supports, and dual enrollment. Dr. Barnett has authored or co-authored research reports, book chapters, and articles on a wide range of related topics. Dr. Barnett received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Educational Organization and Leadership with a focus on higher education.

Dr. Peter Riley Bahr, Vice President and Managing Research Director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work, is a nationally recognized scholar and expert on postsecondary education, student outcomes, and economic mobility. The central aim of his research is ensuring that a high-quality college education, stable employment, and a family-sustaining wage are within reach of everyone.

Dr. Bahr focuses specifically on the role of public postsecondary institutions — especially community and technical colleges — in creating and advancing educational and economic opportunities for socioeconomically disadvantaged students, adult-age students beginning in or returning to college, individuals returning to the community after incarceration, and other disadvantaged groups. Working closely with policymakers and institutional leaders, his research directly informs policy and practice aimed at reducing inequality, achieving educational attainment goals, improving workforce opportunities, and strengthening state economic vitality and growth. Before joining Strada, Dr. Bahr served as a tenured associate professor in the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, where he built a multimillion dollar research program focused on educational pathways and workforce outcomes, as well as taught graduate-level classes in applied statistics.

Debra D. Bragg is President of Bragg and Associates, Inc., an equity-minded consulting group dedicated to advancing student success in education and employment. During her career, she founded two community college research centers, Community College Research Initiatives at the University of Washington in Seattle (2016-2020) and the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1989-2015) where she is Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor emerita. Dr. Bragg’s research focuses on transitions to and through education to employment. She has led national studies on a wide range of P-20 education policies, including developmental education, career-technical education and career pathways, transfer (vertical and reverse credit), and community college baccalaureates.  .

Dr. Bragg uses quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand how different levels of change and innovation are working to enhance student success, including student, program, institution, system, state, and national levels. Dr. Bragg has an extensive resume, including books, journal articles, briefs, and blogs in major media outlets. In 2015 she was named a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and Dr. Bragg received the Distinguished Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in 2016. In 2019, Dr. Bragg was honored with the national Transfer Champion Award from the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS).

Dr. Bragg received a BS degree in secondary teaching from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and MS and PhD degrees from The Ohio State University, with specializations in postsecondary and adult education, public policy, and program evaluation.

Mark D’Amico is a Professor of Higher Education at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research occurs at the intersection of community college student success and workforce development. Mark is currently Co-PI on a project with the Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center funded by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES-NSF) to study the community college noncredit data infrastructure. He is a Past-President of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges and former Associate Editor of Community College Review.  Prior to his faculty role, Mark served in administrative positions with the South Carolina Technical College System, Midlands Technical College, Francis Marion University, and UNC Charlotte.

Katherine Hughes is a principal researcher with the American Institutes for Research. Her research and publications have addressed college readiness and the high school-to-college transition, dual enrollment, career and technical education (CTE), community college reforms, and two-to-four-year college transfer, among other areas.

Dr. Hughes serves as the principal investigator and director of the CTE Research Network 2.0, a five-year initiative funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, and she led the first CTE Research Network in its successful work to expand the evidence base on CTE. Prior to working at AIR, Hughes was Executive Director, Community College and Higher Education Initiatives, at the College Board. In that position, she worked to strengthen the College Board’s services to and support of community colleges and their students. Hughes was also the Assistant Director for Work and Education Reform Research at the Community College Research Center (CCRC), the leading independent authority on the nation’s two-year colleges, located at Columbia University.

Hughes has published results from her work in a range of periodicals including Journal of College Student Retention, Community College Review, Teachers College Record, Techniques, and Phi Delta Kappan, and she co-authored the book Working Knowledge: Work-Based Learning and Education Reform. Hughes received her Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University.

Monica Reid Kerrigan is a Professor in the Educational Services and Leadership Department at Rowan University, where she teaches courses on higher education policy, community colleges, and research methods in the Educational Leadership EdD program and the PhD in Education program. She also serves as the coordinator of the Rowan University Community College Leadership Initiative (CCLI).

Her research interests include institutional structures and public policies that influence the transition of historically marginalized students into and through higher education and into the labor market. She also explores the research methods that support inquiry into students’ access to and success in postsecondary education.  She has published in academic journals and edited volumes including The Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, American Behavioral Scientist.

She is also co-owner of Kerrigan Reid LLC, a firm focused on employee benefits and educational consulting.

Bill has 20 years of experience in using longitudinal administrative data to study the employment and economic effects of education and workforce development policies and programs. Much of his work has focused on evaluating the effectiveness policy initiatives and programs that support community colleges and the public workforce system. In addition, Bill specializes in building user-friendly data visualizations based on these data.To deliver the results of his analyses, Bill has authored numerous studies and built practical tools for data visualization.

Corey Moss-Pech is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Florida State University. His research examines how individuals navigate educational organizations and labor market institutions to better understand stratification and social mobility outcomes with particular emphasis on gender inequality.  His research agenda is motivated by changes to the economy that make jobs and careers less stable while simultaneously increasing the cost of higher education. He investigates how these two forces shape individuals’ career tracks and higher education decision-making with a focus on intersecting inequalities, including gender, race, and class. Corey’s first book, Major Trade-Offs: The Surprising Truths about College Majors and Entry-level Jobs is forthcoming May 2025 with the University of Chicago Press. Before joining FSU, Corey was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Michigan.