Hanno’s research focuses on understanding how early education and care programs and policies support children, families, and communities. She is currently part of the management team for the Measures for Early Success Initiative and BIAS-NG Head Start work. Prior to joining MDRC in 2022, Hanno was a postdoctoral research fellow with the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she helped lead research efforts on the Early Learning Study at Harvard, a longitudinal, population-based study of young children across Massachusetts. Before her doctoral studies, Hanno was a Head Start educator and then instructional coach for teachers in preschool through fifth grade classrooms in Houston, Texas. Hanno holds a BA in economics and international relations from Tufts University, an Ed.M. in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in education policy and program evaluation from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
