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Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab
Total Duration6 yrs 9 mos
TitleProgram Director
Dates EmployedSep 2014 – Jan 2019
Employment Duration4 yrs 5 mos
LocationSan Francisco
As a Program Director with the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (previously known as the Social Impact Bond Technical Assistance Lab), I oversaw a team of Government Innovation Fellows working to implement Pay for Success/Social Impact Bond and other performance improvement and outcomes-based contracting projects in state and local governments across the country. Our work involved helping governments use data and evaluation to improve the way they contract for and deliver social services by improving referral mechanisms, building outcomes into contracts, and standing up performance management systems. My team's work included:
• Helping over a dozen California State and County agencies design and implement initiatives to improve the way they deliver services for homelessness, re-entry from prison, workforce development, and other high priority policy areas
• Catalyzing the creation of three performance contracting projects in Alameda, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties to reduce recidivism through a Pay for Success/Social Impact Bond model in which providers are paid based on the extent to which they are able to measurably improve outcomes of participants, catalyzing nearly $30 million in new funding for substance abuse, job training, education, mental health, case management and housing services
• Advising state and local governments Arkansas, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and others on best practices in performance contracting
• Leading scoping for potential new projects on topics including maternal health, early childhood education, job training, juvenile justice, re-entry planning, homelessness prevention, and child welfare
As a member of the Leadership Team, I was also responsible for helping manage the growth and strategic vision of GPL, which included:
• Identifying and recruiting new government partners
• Hiring new fellows
• Interfacing with funders and writing grants
• Sharing GPL learnings through conferences and publications
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TitleSocial Impact Bond Government Innovation Fellow
Dates EmployedMay 2012 – Aug 2014
Employment Duration2 yrs 4 mos
LocationBoston, MA & Chicago, IL
Served as a Government Innovation Fellow/Project Manager with the Harvard Kennedy School Social Impact Bond Technical Assistance Lab to help government in Massachusetts and Chicago launch two of the country's first Social Impact Bonds.
- Worked with the Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance to launch an expansion of the Roca program, which help connect over 900 at-risk youth with transitional employment and counseling to help reduce criminal behavior and recidivism.
- Drafted and coordinated State application for a U.S. Department of Labor grant, resulting in an award to the Commonwealth of $11.67 million
- Briefed top decision makers and participated in high-level contract negotiations
- Managed relationships between the intermediaries, service providers, and government agencies
- Led the City of Chicago's efforts to expand access to high quality early childhood education to over 2,600 low-income children through the use of the Child Parent Center model
- Conducted cost benefit and other data analyses to help structure the SIB repayment schedule
- Assisted in development and refinement of program model, financial model, budget, and implementation plan
- Helped recruit investors, raising over $16M in commercial capital
- Drafted the evaluation plan to determine the impact of the program See less |