About the Ohio Collaborative

Director: Cynthia K. Buettner

Cynthia Buettner currently serves as Director of the Ohio Collaborative and Director of Research for The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology. She holds a doctorate in Human Development and a Masters in Interpersonal Communication and has previously served in executive positions for non-profit, educational, and training and development organizations. A former teacher of at risk youth, her research has focused on at risk children and youth, their families, and the educational and social service systems that serve them. Her past and current research efforts include evidence-based practices in prevention and intervention programs for children and youth, strategies for implementing evidence-based practices in the mental health professions, and the effectiveness of town/gown coalitions in reducing high risk drinking and celebratory riots among college students. Dr. Buettner has also authored several resources related to school climate and quality practices for serving at-risk youth.

Jian Li

Jian Li is a graduate research assistant and a Ph.D student in the Quantitative Research, Evaluation and Measurement in Education section with her main interest in testing measurement and program evaluation at The Ohio State University. Before coming to the US, Jian taught English at a university in China for four years during which time she participated in the grading and evaluation work for the National College English Test for four runs. Based on her teaching experience, she also worked on a team developing instruments and researching the relationship between students' learning styles/skills and their test scores.

Dwan Robinson

Dwan Robinson is a graduate research associate and a Ph.D. student in Educational Administration in the School of Educational Policy and Leadership at the Ohio State University. Her projects include research on the recruitment and retention of Ohio teachers and work on the Ohio Teacher Vacancy Study for the Ohio Department of Education. In addition, Dwan has worked on policy reports regarding charter schools and accountability. She has collaborated on projects exploring instructionally effective school districts and the practices that have aided them in closing achievement gaps among minority and non-minority students. Dwan is currently involved in the evaluation of the Student Achievement in Research and Scholarship Program for the Ohio Board of Regents.

Prior to joining the Collaborative, Dwan worked with a national government consulting firm for 10 years during which time she consulted with state and local government agencies in the Midwest. She has a M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Oberlin College