Our Team
Elizabeth Osche
Director/ Senior Research Partner
Elizabeth has been with the Program Evaluation and Research Group since 2006, when she began at Lesley University as a research assistant. She has been involved with numerous evaluations over the years, being promoted to Associate Director in 2015. As the Director of PERG Learning, Elizabeth is looking forward to developing new opportunities while continuing to focus on the core work of providing critical insights for clients to improve their programs. Elizabeth has a background in developmental psychology, early childhood education, and mixed research methods. Her work at PERG has recently focused on the development of the Family Friendly Campus Toolkit, a self-assessment tool for colleges who want to better understand their parenting student populations. She has also led a number of evaluations in a range of STEM education fields, from data science to marine education to robotics. Elizabeth particularly enjoys helping organizations and programs determine their needs and to clarify and articulate their goals. Elizabeth holds a BA in psychology from Juniata College in Huntington, PA and an MA in Developmental & Educational Psychology from Boston College. She lives with her wife and two young daughters outside of Boston.
Debra Richardson Smith
Senior Research Partner/Advisor
Debra was director of the Program Evaluation and Research Group for 12 years and is now partner and advisor for PERG Learning. Her professional experience in education includes teaching in a variety of contexts from pre-school to doctoral studies; program, curriculum and assessment design; and research and evaluation. She was the founding director of the Collaborative Inquiry and Development Group at the University of Southern Maine where she led several research projects focused on teachers’ deepening understanding of students’ learning through assessment and collaborative inquiry. Her work over the past several years has largely focused on arts integration and literacy programs in cities across the country. Debra earned a BA in Art from the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and an M.Ed. in Learning Environments and Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Lesley University.
Joan Karp Senior Research Partner
Joan started as a Senior Research Associate at the Program Evaluation and Research Group in 2000 after working with an early school improvement project in the Boston Public Schools, managing NSF educational reform projects, working with school systems and community groups on diversity issues, and other endeavors. Her evaluation and research projects have included studies of student parent programs in higher education, large STEM education partnerships, STEM professional development and curriculum projects, and museum exhibition evaluations. She is a co-developer of the Family Friendly Campus Toolkit: Using Data to Improve Outcomes. Joan is also a regional and international leader of Re-evaluation Counseling. She earned a BA in Sociology from Brandeis University and an M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Gene Diaz Senior Research Partner
Senior Research Partner Gene Diaz brings diverse interests and experiences as an educator, visual artist, and engineer to her work as a researcher, program developer and evaluator. A senior administrator and faculty member at Lesley University until 2014, she was a Senior Research Associate with the Program Evaluation and Research Group for five years. Since 1992 Gene has conducted evaluations for schools, cultural arts and non-profit organizations that emphasize intersections between the arts, social change, health, and learning. As a Fulbright scholar in Medellín, Colombia, she combined the creative process with her teaching and research across cultures. She completed her BSEE in electronics engineering at San Diego State University; and years later earned her M.Ed. and Ph.D. in curriculum from the University of New Orleans.