Staci Wendt, Senior Research Associate in WestEd’s Health & Justice Program, develops and implements multiple aspects of the program’s evaluation and research projects, including sampling, research design, data collection, and data analysis strategies.
Wendt works on evaluations related to juvenile justice, teen pregnancy prevention, foster care, student social-emotional health, recidivism, and college affordability.
She currently is Co-Principal Investigator of two studies: a teen pregnancy prevention randomized controlled trial being implemented in the Oregon Youth Authority juvenile justice facilities; and a California Department of Education-funded study examining the impact of participation in after-school programs.
In addition, Wendt is leading a randomized controlled experiment examining the impact of a new case management system on adult recidivism. She also is the lead quantitative analyst for two additional randomized controlled experiments: one examining the impact of financial aid assistance on college enrollment for high school seniors and the other on school climate in K–12 schools.
Wendt has expertise in analyzing longitudinal and multivariate juvenile justice, health, and education data. She has developed and implemented quasi-experimental and experimental designs, and is trained in the use of mixed-methods designs. In addition, Wendt has incorporated in her research and evaluation studies a variety of analytic techniques, including hierarchical linear modeling, structural equation modeling, and growth curve analysis.
She received a master’s degree in psychology and a PhD in applied psychology, both from Portland State University.