About MDRC
Wavelet joined MDRC as a senior fellow in April 2019 after serving in executive roles in Colorado, Wisconsin, and New York City government agencies since 2005. She brings leadership experience designing, implementing, and continuously improving programs and policies that support families. At MDRC, she divides her time between advancing data use in state human services agencies on the TANF Data Innovation Initiative and promoting the adoption of evidence-based student support strategies on the following projects: College Completion, Tools for Postsecondary Schools, Scaling Up Community College Efforts for Student Success, and Intermediaries for Scale. She is the author of Improving College Graduation Rates with Multifaceted Student Support Programs and A Practitioner’s Framework for Measuring Results: Using “C-Stat” at the Colorado Department of Human Services. Wavelet holds a master’s degree in public management from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Marquette University.
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MDRC Publications
ToolkitA Toolkit for Sustainable Data Use
July, 2023This toolkit was created to help human services agencies build the culture and infrastructure needed to apply data analysis routinely, effectively, and accurately. While it was developed with state TANF agencies in mind, many of the techniques may be useful for a range of government agencies and other organizations.
BriefThe TANF Data Collaborative Approach
July, 2022The TANF Data Innovation (TDI) project was created to expand the use of administrative data by state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies to improve program performance. This brief describes a TDI test of an approach to building staff capabilities through applied data analytics, intensive training, and technical assistance.
BriefHere’s What Institutions and State Agencies Need to Know
September, 2021This brief summarizes the evidence from studies of multifaceted support programs aimed at boosting college graduation rates. It examines what works and the state and institutional factors necessary for successful implementation, and offers advice on how to balance fidelity with local needs while measuring and ensuring positive impacts.
BriefReemployment Strategies in Retention and Advancement Programs for Current and Former Welfare Recipients
June, 2010When current and former welfare recipients find jobs, they often lose them quickly and have trouble finding another job. This brief, based on the experiences of 12 programs in the national Employment Retention and Advancement evaluation, offers advice on how to design and implement practices that turn a recent job loss into an opportunity to find a better one.
ReportFinal Impacts for Twelve Models
April, 2010This report presents the final implementation and impact findings for 12 programs in the national Employment Retention and Advancement project, sponsored by the federal Administration for Children and Families. These programs attempted to promote steady work and career advancement for current and former welfare recipients and other low-wage workers, most of whom were single mothers.
ReportAn Introduction to the Employment Retention and Advancement Project
February, 2002Welfare reform has resulted in millions of low-income parents replacing the receipt of public cash assistance with income from employment. But what strategies will help the new workforce entrants find more stable jobs, advance in the labor market, and achieve long-term self-sufficiency? The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) evaluation is a comprehensive effort to explore this urgent public policy question.
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Other Publications
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Projects
The College Completion Fund demonstrates renewed federal interest in increasing postsecondary students’ success and could provide significant funding for states and colleges to adopt evidence-based policies and practices.
Michelle Ware, Alexander Mayer, Colleen Sommo, Leigh Parise, Elena Serna-Wallender, Jálynn Castleman-Smith, Shawna Anderson, Rae Walker, Melissa Wavelet, Katie Beal, Melissa Boynton, Diane WrenThe COVID -19 pandemic has dramatically affected colleges’ operations and students’ educational experiences, severely strained budgets, and created unprecedented financial and emotional stress for students, faculty, and staff. As colleges adapt to an evolving landscape, they need immediate solutions to support and retain students, as well as to continue to focus on...
MDRC ’s Applying the Evidence project is a partnership with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (Minnesota State) to expand the implementation of evidence-based student success strategies across the Minnesota State system, which currently includes 30 community colleges and seven universities.
In partnership with system-level leaders from...
Colleen Sommo, Alexander Mayer, Alyssa Ratledge, Michelle Ware, Osvaldo Avila, Katie Beal, Melissa Wavelet, Leigh Parise, Colin Hill, Rae Walker, Austin Slaughter, Hannah Dalporto, Elena Serna-Wallender, Stanley Dai, Parker Cellura, Kayla WarnerMDRC ’s Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success ( SUCCESS ) seeks to improve graduation rates for traditionally underserved students at two- and four-year colleges, by helping states and institutions align their resources with evidence-driven practices. SUCCESS combines components from multiple programs that have proven themselves to be effective at...
Richard Hendra, Stephanie Rubino, Erika Lundquist, Melissa Wavelet, Johanna Walter, Edith Yang, Mark van Dok, Audrey YuTANF Data Innovation ( TDI ) is a national initiative to support state, local, and tribal agencies that administer Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ( TANF ) and the federal agencies that oversee this work. This initiative aims to substantially expand the routine use, integration, and analysis of TANF and employment data to improve outcomes for families and to...