MEET OUR TEAM
Dr. Kimberly Harris, PhD, MBA
Dr. Kimberly Harris (Kim) PhD, MBA is a trained economist, researcher, and evaluator specializing in Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation and Research (CREE/R). She is the Founder and Principal Researcher of Educa Consulting, Inc., a firm that uses data-informed decision-making to help social impact organizations serve communities effectively.
educaconsulting.org
With nearly twenty years of experience in research and evaluation, Dr. Harris conducts intersectional research and evaluation in multiple sectors including Housing, Economics, Workforce Development, and Criminal Justice,
Dr. Harris’ evaluative and research practices frequently employ a diverse set of methodological approaches including quasi-experimental design, survey instrumentation, and cognitive testing in collaboration with the community.
Her background as a social science researcher, evaluator, and facilitator, as well as her extensive experience managing research, evaluation, and consulting projects for clients in the public and private sector, has afforded her opportunities to work extensively with communities across the country.
Dr. Harris leverages specialized economic and organization training in her current practice, applying it to critical issues of economic equity, wealth-building, community development, and strategic, financial, and organizational effectiveness. As the founder and principal of Educa Consulting, her work focuses on finance and economic access for marginalized populations, and includes conducting economic analysis and sustainability analysis.
Dr. Harris received a PhD in Education Research and Policy Analysis, with a concentration in Industrial Psychology from North Carolina State University, a Master’s in Business Administration from Campbell University, and a dual Bachelors in Economics and African-American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill. She completed her postdoctoral work at The University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Rachel Powell, PhD, MPH, CHES, CPH
Dr. Rachel Powell, PhD, MPH, CHES, CPH, is a public health and health equity professional with nearly 15 years of program management, research, and evaluation experience. Dr. Powell’s career has been hallmarked by her work with community-based organizations and community members to study key social drivers of health. She is trained in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research and a Technology of Participation trained facilitator. Dr. Powell is a skilled researcher and evaluator, specializing in Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation (CREE) methodologies.
She has worked at the federal government, philanthropy, academia, and non-profit organizations, as well as an independent consultant. She is a champion of trust-based philanthropy practices and culturally responsive and equitable evaluation and research. Rachel has worked on a variety of projects on topics ranging from emergency response, global cardiovascular health, drowning prevention, domestic injury prevention projects, and more.
Previously, Dr. Powell was at CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity serving as the Operations Manager of Let’s Move Child Care, an initiative launched by the previous First Lady Michelle Obama during the Obama administration. Let’s Move Child Care focused on empowering child care and early education providers to prevent childhood obesity. She also has served as an adjunct professor at Georgia State University School of Public Health teaching both graduate and undergraduate classes in program planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Rachel graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Mercer University. She also obtained her Master of Public Health degree with a dual concentration in Maternal & Child Health and Health Education & Communication from Tulane University. Dr. Powell has a PhD in Health Promotion and Behavior with a cognate in Health Communication from the University of Georgia. While at UGA she also obtained two graduate level certificates – interdisciplinary qualitative research and non profit management. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist. Rachel currently serves as the Board President of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia and on the Advisory Board of BLK HLTH.
Dr. Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, MPH, PhD
Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, MPH, PhD, is the Principal of TERSHA LLC, leveraging her profi ciency as a designer, researcher, evaluator, artist, and esteemed consultant. Alongside her consultancy, she holds the position of Adjunct Professor at Texas Women’s University and has been honored as a 2022 Public Voices fellow by Academy Health and The OpEdProject. For over two decades, she has partnered with communities on initiatives designed to create culturally responsive and equitable research and evaluation tools. Dr. Attipoe-Dorcoo, is also a prolific speaker and facilitator, having delivered presentations at numerous conferences, contributing to scholarly publications, holding leadership positions in various organizations, and facilitating training sessions.
Dr. Attipoe-Dorcoo’s educational background spans the STEM and public health fi elds with a seamless weaving of research, evaluation, and critical analytic approaches to addressing systemic challenges. She is a natural strategic thinker who knows how to leverage the discrete systemic components of systems such as governance, collaboration, community engagement, resources, and culture to develop sustainable solutions with greater impact than the sum of the parts of the system. From working across partners in global, state, federal, non-profit, territorial, tribal, clinical, and several fi elds of expertise, Dr. Attipoe-Dorcoo understands how to navigate the complexities required for initiatives such as this project.
Dr. Attipoe-Dorcoo has been involved in national research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects ranging from CDC-funded grants, mobile clinic initiatives, chronic surveillance systems, economic evaluation of programs and policies impacting health disparities, and developing and publishing equitable and accessible evaluation frameworks. These experiences have cultivated a deep understanding for fl exibility, adaptability and appreciation for complex large scale initiatives. Additionally, through her workforce development initiative at TERSHA, she collaborates with universities as a community affiliate to engage young people in research and community science activities.
TERSHA LLC is a research and evaluation fi rm that specializes in culturally responsive and human-centered approaches to provide organizations with equitable, evidence-based solutions. The firm is characterized by its “community scholarship activism”.
Key characteristics and expertise include:
● STEM and Technical Expertise: The team possesses deep STEM backgrounds and skillfully integrates technical areas, such as Machine Learning, into their evaluation practice.
● Evaluation Services: They provide operational enterprise solutions, critical research, complex data analysis, and mixed-methods evaluation.
● Specialized Approaches: TERSHA utilizes trauma-informed design and equity-centered frameworks. They developed the BAL Framework (boundaries, alerts, and limits) to help organizations build cultures of accountability and care.
● Experience: The fi rm has deep experience in disaster recovery systems, workforce development, and supporting federal agencies (e.g., CDC, DHS), philanthropic institutions, and community organizations.
TERSHA LLC is led by Principal and Consultant Dr. Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, who has over 20 years of experience in systems strategy and evaluation.
Mateland R. Mayes
Mateland R. Mayes is the Founder and CEO of M Squared Tecknowledgies (M²Teck), a learning and development consultancy focused on turning training into measurable performance outcomes. msquaredteck.com
With more than 20 years of experience, she has led high-impact learning initiatives across federal contracting, healthcare, education, fi nancial services, software, and technology. Her career began in facilitation and instructional design, building deep expertise in adult learning, training strategy, and emerging technologies. Over time, Mateland advanced into senior leadership roles, managing multimillion-dollar programs, global development teams, and complex stakeholder environments. She has supported organizations including the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, GoDaddy, FM Global, and LexisNexis, serving audiences ranging from small teams to more than 100,000 learners worldwide. Mateland is known for bridging strategy and execution by translating business, compliance, and performance requirements into scalable, accessible learning solutions. As CEO of M²Teck, she leads a multidisciplinary team of learning professionals who partner with clients to deliver practical, inclusive, and results-driven learning experiences.
Mr. James E. Price, MA
James E. Price is a visionary higher education and workforce development executive with extensive experience in leading complex federal programs and postsecondary initiatives, with more than a decade of senior leadership experience in postsecondary education
As an experienced Senior Project Manager working in Workforce Development and Higher Education, James is knowledgeable and skillful in the areas of Educational Administration, Consulting and Program Administration. His background includes project development and management, curriculum development. James has extensive experience managing projects and teams centered around workforce and technical educational issues. He has spent many years in the educational arena specializing in managing projects, programs, development and employee relations. Most of his work has centered on student/client success, collaboration, accreditation and curriculum management. In working with Workforce Development, James has managed Registered Apprenticeship Projects focusing on Supply Chain Automation and Logistics. In those roles, he helped companies build their workforce pipeline with skilled workers, while building relationships with workforce partners and developing and managing programs geared to critical training of Career and Technical Education (CTE). Currently serving as Senior Program Manager at Manhattan Strategy Group (MSG) since 2022, he leads national federal initiatives for the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor, managing multi-year implementation plans for Registered Apprenticeship pathways.
He holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Fort Valley State University. His expertise encompasses accreditation (SACSCOC, COE), curriculum innovation, and building cross-sector partnerships between industry and education.
