Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute Staff
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Nadrea R. Njoku, Ph.D
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Barry Nagle
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Yanesia Norris
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Keeley Copridge, Ph.D.
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Meredith Anderson, Ph.D.
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Brian Gulko
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Shimiya Woods
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Natasha McClendon
Nadrea R. Njoku, Ph.D
Assistant Vice President, FDPRI
Nadrea.Njoku@uncf.org
Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku is the Assistant Vice President of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) at UNCF. There she leads the learning, evaluation, and execution of the research portfolio for UNCF, inclusive of longitudinal mixed-method evaluations, organizational data management, and telling the dynamic and evolving story of HBCUs. She has worked across multiple functions of higher education—housing, student affairs, fraternity and sorority affairs, alumni relations and evaluation—in both the PWI and HBCU contexts.
Dr. Njoku is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and holds a master’s degree and doctorate from Indiana University.
Barry Nagle
Senior Research Associate
Barry.Nagle@uncf.org
Barry Nagle is the Senior Research Associate with the Gates Millennium Scholars Program/UNCF and has served in this role since 2012. His role has grown at UNCF to include research and evaluation activities for the full Scholarships and Programs Division. Prior to joining UNCF, Dr. Nagle served as the proprietor of Evaluation and Action Research Associates (EARA), which has been in operation since 2008. Before establishing EARA, Dr. Nagle served as the Director of the Center for Assessment, Planning and Accountability (CAPA) with the UNCF Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP). Dr. Nagle joined UNCFSP to establish the center in November 2004. Prior to joining UNCFSP, Dr. Nagle was the Research & Evaluation Specialist Team Lead at NASA Peer Review Services in Washington, D.C., working primarily with NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Program within the Office of Education. Dr. Nagle was a public-school educator in Pennsylvania and North Carolina for 11 years and has worked in the research and evaluation field for the past 25 years.
Dr. Nagle has a B.S. in Early Childhood Education/Special Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and an M.A. in Education from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Nagle has completed graduate work in Educational Research Methodology at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and earned his doctorate at The George Washington University in Educational Administration and Policy Studies. Professionally he has conducted over 30 national and international research and evaluation projects and over 175 regional and local research and evaluation projects.
Yanesia Norris
Data Analyst, FDPRI
Yanesia is a graduate of Spelman College where she majored in Political Science and Philosophy and Howard University where she obtained her Master’s in Sociology with a concentration in social inequality. Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Yanesia prides herself in her ability to make research and data more accessible to all. Her career and research has focused on education and education policy, specifically the ways in which students have inequitable educational experiences.
Keeley Copridge, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
kcopridge@uncf.org
Keeley Copridge, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Associate for UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI). Before joining UNCF, Keeley worked as a Project Associate for Indiana University’s Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Center for Postsecondary Research on research projects examining underrepresented students’ engagement experiences.
Keeley is a first-generation college graduate, who obtained her B.A. in Psychology and Master of Science in Social Work at the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY. She is currently enrolled in the Higher Education doctoral program at Indiana University, where she will defend her dissertation examining the college choice experiences of Black college women in December 2020.
Meredith Anderson, Ph.D.
Meredith Anderson, Ph.D., is a director of K-12 Research at the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI). She supports the K-12 research endeavors of the advocacy team and FDPRI through design and management of empirical research projects related to K-12 education reform for African American students.
Anderson has extensive quantitative experience, including survey design and management, program evaluation and data analysis. Her research and publications have focused on public administration and policy, race, educational inequities, representative bureaucracy, intersectionality and the influence of representation on tracking outcomes for African American male students.
Prior to her work at UNCF, Anderson was program evaluator for Baltimore City Public Schools, where she contributed to the development and management of the teacher and principal evaluation system, conducted statistical analyses to inform decision-making and led the evaluation survey for principals. Anderson also contributed to the Maryland Longitudinal Data System development at the Maryland State Department of Education. Additionally, Anderson was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Prior to that, she was a research associate for the Project for Equity, Representation and Governance. Anderson earned doctorate in political science from Texas A&M University, where she also received a bachelor’s degree.
Brian Gulko
Senior Data Analyst
Brian.Gulko@uncf.org
Brian Gulko is a Data Analyst for the Patterson research team. He works with data from a wide variety of sources to discover insights related to African Americans in higher education. Using this information he responds to data requests, provides stakeholders with information, and contributes to Patterson’s research goals. He enjoys working with R, his data toolkit of choice. Brian holds a BS in Physics from American University.
Shimiya Woods
Senior Administrative Assistant
shimiya.woods@uncf.org
Shimiya Woods joins the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute and the ICB team as a Senior Administrative Assistant. As a Senior Admin Assistant, Shimiya will be supporting the Vice President of Research and Member Engagement and the FDPRI team. Prior to joining UNCF, Shimiya worked as a Senior Program Assistant/Executive Assistant for multiple nonprofits in the DC metro area.
Shimiya earned a BA in Psychology from Temple University.
Natasha McClendon
Natasha McClendon is a Senior Research Associate for UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) working on the longitudinal study for the Student Freedom Initiative. She worked as a Community Data & Research Analyst prior to joining UNCF, focusing on continuous improvement and alignment of resources to make evidence-based decisions. Natasha also worked as a Field Researcher recruiting participants and collecting qualitative data for their “Under the Scope” study on middle school science fair impacts.
Natasha earned her master’s degree in Sociology from American University in 2012 and will earn her PhD in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University. Her research has focused on Black college student experiences in relation to STEM retention and support, performance-based funding, and student success. She is dedicated to honoring Black Intellectual Traditions through her research of higher education and Black students’ experiences.