Meet the Team

Dr. Jennifer McMurrer is a Research and Evaluation Director at Gibson. She has more than 20 years of experience conducting practical research that informs policy and evaluates the effectiveness of educational programs, having worked for education associations, universities, school districts, and consulting firms. Dr. McMurrer specializes in mixed methods and qualitative research that integrates principles of human-centered design. Her specific research interests focus on K-12 federal education policy and program implementation in rural schools. Prior to joining Gibson, Dr. McMurrer worked as a Senior Researcher at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and was the Director of Research at the Center on Education Policy (CEP) at The George Washington University. At SMU, she provided research support on a large-scale grant project funded by the National Science Foundation and leadership on a multi-university randomized control trial funded by the Education Innovation and Research program within the U.S. Department of Education. Her work is also informed by her experiences working in public school districts across several states for CEP and her volunteer work on various district committees in her children’s school district. Dr. McMurrer earned her PhD in education policy and research methodology from George Mason University, where she also earned a Master of Public Policy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Foreign Languages and International Affairs from James Madison University.