Our Team

Harlan leads and contributes to many projects in evaluation and software development. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep his clients and staff happy and prides himself on making the impossible possible.

Harlan received his master’s degree in evaluation studies with a focus on quantitative methods from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree in educational policy and educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin.

Julie oversees PDA’s evaluation division and takes a lead role on tobacco cessation evaluations. She is also PDA’s HIPAA compliance officer and leads data privacy efforts.

Julie holds a bachelor of arts with majors in sociology and philosophy from Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota.

Becky leads analyses for evaluation and research clients, providing expertise in quantitative analysis and survey methodology. She manages PDA’s team of analysts and has been on our team since 2008.

Becky has a master of public health degree in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Carleton College.

Melissa designs, implements, and leads multiple evaluation projects. She oversees staff evaluators and manages the broader direction and activities of the evaluation division.

Melissa holds a doctorate in psychological and quantitative foundations with an emphasis in evaluation from the University of Iowa.

Amy designs, implements, and leads multiple public health evaluation projects. She oversees staff evaluators and manages the broader direction and activities of the evaluation division.

Amy has her doctorate in social psychology with fellowship training in evaluation from Loyola University Chicago.

Sara uses her advanced statistical programming skills in SAS to support a wide variety of evaluation and health care research projects through data cleaning, statistical analysis, and manuscript writing.

Sara earned her master’s degree in statistics from the University of Minnesota and her bachelor’s in mathematics and economics from St. Olaf College.

Since joining the PDA evaluation crew in 2005, Traci has been involved in leading, designing, and implementing evaluations of single, multisite, and statewide health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.

Traci holds a master’s in public health in community health education from the University of Minnesota.

Steve is involved in all aspects of software architecture and development. He’s skilled in effective automated testing, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.

Steve holds a bachelor of arts in information systems/computer science from Calvin College.

Joining PDA in 2007, Emily leads multiple large-scale evaluation projects. She adeptly manages projects and is a master at conveying complex information in a clear and friendly way. With a passion for accessibility and use, Emily rolls out innovative strategies for data collection, stakeholder engagement, and dissemination of findings.

Emily has a master’s degree in organizational leadership, policy and development (evaluation studies) with a minor in quantitative methods in education, and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology with a management minor, both from the University of Minnesota.

Andy contributes to the design and implementation of PDA’s software projects through technical leadership, architecture planning, and software craftsmanship. Andy is a full stack developer with primary strengths in .NET MVC applications.

Vince works with stakeholders to understand their business needs and writes clear specifications for new features. He guides the software development team in planning and building software updates following his and team-members’ specifications.

Vince holds a bachelor of business administration in management information systems from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Angie’s main role is managing the evaluation of a community grants initiative in Hawai‘i that provides in-person tobacco cessation counseling to priority populations. She also leads our data visualization efforts by inspiring, training, and creating tools for her colleagues.

Angie holds a master’s in public health (community health education) from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s in psychology from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Katherine joined PDA in 2009 and oversees data collection, processing, investigation, and analysis on evaluation projects. She has a passion for public health and working with clients on both analysis and evaluation tasks.

Katherine earned her master of public health in community health promotion with an interdisciplinary focus on health equity from the University of Minnesota. Katherine is certified in public health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE license number 12828). She received her bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Grand Valley State University.

Tia helps clients answer questions and make decisions that improve public health, working with her PDA teammates to design and conduct evaluations.

Tia holds a master of public health in environmental health from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor of arts in biology from Luther College. She is currently a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.

Since joining PDA in 2015, Heather has supported multiple evaluations of statewide public health programs. She supports all aspects of the evaluation, but specializes in survey management and presenting data in visually appealing ways.

Heather has a master of arts degree in evaluation studies from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology with a Spanish minor from Taylor University.

Mitch helps design and write software that supports our clients’ goals. He is a full stack developer with expertise in Microsoft technologies.

Mitch has a bachelor of science degree in computer science from North Dakota State University

Sam conducts data processing, sampling, and quantitative analysis for evaluation and research projects at PDA.

Sam earned her master of public health (epidemiology) degree with a minor in biostatistics from the University of Minnesota. Her bachelor’s degree is in Spanish culture and literature with a minor in community health education from the University of St. Thomas.

Kelly keeps the business humming, using her skills in human resources, operations, and a variety of special projects.

Kelly holds a master’s in business administration and a bachelor of science in business with a major in human resources and industrial relations, both from the University of Minnesota.

Heidi is responsible for all things accounting, from receivables and payables to staff payroll and financial reporting. In addition, Heidi handles benefit administration and ensures the office runs smoothly. We would all be lost without Heidi.

Heidi has an associate’s degree in accounting.

Polly has managed the day-to-day survey responsibilities for our Florida and Oklahoma projects since joining PDA in August 2012. Additionally, she facilitates work with our Hawai‘i and Florida contractors. Polly has the gift of gab and excels at getting survey respondents to open up to her.

Saahithi assists the statistics and research team with data cleaning and processing. Although she is still in college, she is already experienced in R, Java, JavaScript, and Python.

Saahithi will be graduating in June 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in statistics and a minor in Spanish from Carleton College.

Allison surveys individuals in Florida and Oklahoma, working to reach successful return rates however she can.

Allison earned her master of public health in community health promotion in 2017 and her bachelors of arts in sociology and public health studies in 2015. Additionally, she maintains certifications in public health and health education.

Mary completes telephone surveys to support evaluation projects in Florida and Oklahoma. She enjoys working directly with the community to improve health and brings a friendly, enthusiastic attitude to PDA.

Mary holds a bachelor of science in kinesiology and health from Iowa State University.

Chloe provides stress relief to anyone who wants to pet her. She is known for her extra soft fur and calm demeanor. She is happiest when she's sleeping near her mom's feet.

Rig joined PDA as a puppy in 2016. She provides tail wags, licks, and emotional support to the evaluation team.

Rig is a puppy training school dropout (the instructor made mom cry!), but she is self-taught in sit, stay, down, and shake.