Dara Zeehandelaar, Ph.D. Research Manager

Dara Zeehandelaar is research manager at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she manages Fordham’s research pipeline, develops study ideas and designs, and conducts research for Fordham’s in-house projects. She completed her Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy at the University of Southern California in 2012, working in the areas of teacher labor markets, school board-teachers’ union relationships, and district reform policy design and implementation. Prior to her doctoral work, she served as a high school mathematics teacher and summer-school coordinator in Washington D.C. public schools. A Los Angeles native and Washington D.C. resident, Dr. Zeehandelaar also holds a M.S. in astrophysics from the University of Maryland and an M.A.T. from American University.