Team

For three decades, Eric Camburn has conducted research on school improvement, school leadership and inequalities in educational opportunity. His research has contributed to the field’s understanding of social inequalities in the secondary and postsecondary outcomes of urban students and of factors that promote and impede the progress of urban students at key junctures. Early research investigated factors associated with social inequalities in high school course failure and access to postsecondary education. A second thread of his research has examined factors that promote the improvement of literacy instruction in urban elementary schools with high poverty rates. Camburn has worked collaboratively with multiple urban districts to advance improvement initiatives through research evidence. Most recently he served as a founding co-director of the Madison Education Partnership, a partnership between the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Madison Metropolitan School District. He earned his doctorate in education from the University of Chicago.

Karin Chang has more than 20 years of experience in Kansas City helping educational organizations meet a wide range of evaluation, needs assessment and research needs. In the Kansas City region, she has partnered with over 40 school districts and charter schools, community colleges, economic development organizations and the state Departments of Education in Kansas and Missouri. Her expertise spans the P-20 educational continuum, including early childhood, K-16 STEM learning, adult education and workforce development. She earned a doctorate in education research and psychology from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in Education Policy and Administration from Stanford University.

Prior to joining the UERC, Chang served as the director of the Kansas City Area Education Research Consortium (KC-AERC), where she led a team of researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri and Kansas State University. The consortium focused on critical educational issues in Kansas City, including student mobility, parent school choice, extended school year and disparities in reading achievement. This focus on equity continues to be a central component of her work at UERC.

Jenny Frenzel has over 20 years of experience in educational and nonprofit program evaluation and grant outcomes measurement. Her expertise includes the design and implementation of comprehensive evaluations for educational, youth development and health promotion programs. Frenzel is highly skilled in the areas of both quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis and reporting. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Emory University and master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The majority of Karen King’s professional experience has been in the higher education environment, with the most recent 15 years devoted to grantsmanship. Her academic background is in business, having earned her undergraduate degree in business administration with a concentration in economic development from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Business Administration from Baker University. Among her responsibilities as senior grants coordinator, King provides support for faculty by researching external funding sources, assisting with preparation and submission of grant proposals, managing pre- and post-award administration and conducting grant-related professional development.

Dillon Fuchsman spent the prior seven years conducting academic research on education policy. His research prioritizes quantitative analytical techniques for causal inference. His academic research focuses on issues in teacher pipelines including teacher retirement systems (pensions), teacher labor markets, and education accountability. Fuchsman’s expanded research agenda includes STEM education and higher education credit accumulation. His research has been supported by the Walton Family Foundation and Equable Institute. Prior to joining the UERC, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University. Fuchsman earned his Ph.D. in Education Policy at the University of Arkansas in 2020. He has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Statistics from the University of Missouri – Columbia.

Leah Youngren (she/her/hers) is a Senior Research Assistant at UERC. She recently obtained her Master of Social Work with an emphasis on macro-level work through the University of Kansas and has a M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Leah’s professional interests include implementation, evaluation, and research efforts that aim to reduce social inequities.

Olaide Bankole is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Chemistry, minoring in Biology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She joined the UERC in December of 2021 as an undergraduate research assistant. Upon graduation in Spring 2023, she plans to go to medical school. She has special interests in surgical specialties and psychiatry.

Emma Kelley (she/her/hers) is a Research Project Coordinator at the UERC. She obtained her Master of Social Work with a macro-level focus through the University of Kansas in 2024, and she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Iowa State University in 2019. Before working at the UERC, Emma taught social-emotional learning in schools across the KC Metro area, where she realized her interest in education programs and systems. Emma’s research interests include educational equity and building protective factors for K-12 students.

Kazi Umaiya Amin(she/her/hers) is a project and financial management professional with over ten years of experience in the NGO and software development sectors. Currently a Business Support Specialist at the Urban Education Research Center at UMKC, she has previously led grants management at the BRAC Institute of Educational Development and managed major software projects at top firms. She holds an MBA in Finance, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, and two graduate certificates and currently pursuing a Master of Science in Accounting at UMKC, combining technical expertise with strategic insight.

Taylor Amberg is a Research Project Coordinator at UERC. She has spent the past ten years as a middle school Language Arts teacher proudly serving Columbia Public Schools, Peoria District 150, and Independence Public Schools. She is currently working towards her PhD in Education Leadership, Policy, and Foundation. Taylor’s interests include providing equity and opportunity in evidence-based literacy instruction to learners of all ages.