Dr. Anna Colaner
Anna Colaner ’08 is the Director of Evaluation and Research at SGA Youth and Family Services, a social service non-profit in Chicago. Prior to taking on this role, she was Data and Outcomes Manager in the Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development.
Colaner graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University, with minors in Spanish and Political Science from the College of Arts & Sciences. She then earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Illinois-Chicago.
She is a researcher and data project manager with expertise in predictive analytics and skill in translating research to diverse audiences. She was trained as an economic sociologist, with a primary interest in early childhood education and family supports.
“I enjoy coming up with solutions to use data in better and smarter ways so that we can achieve maximum impact for youth and families,” Colaner says. “Non-profits and government agencies collect a lot of data. Researchers and analysts like me are needed to turn those data into useable information.”
She especially enjoys using the skills and training she gained as an undergraduate student and research assistant at OHIO and in graduate school to plan and conduct methodologically rigorous evaluation and research projects in the social services context.
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