People

Keri Lintz is the Executive Director for the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy (CHPPP), which houses the BIP Lab. Keri brings a combined background in public policy administration and human service delivery. Prior to joining CHPPP, Keri worked as the state level program officer for five federal grant programs designed to promote healthy child development and address the policy areas of child welfare, mental health & substance abuse, and juvenile justice. Preceding her experience under two gubernatorial administrations, Keri completed a post-graduate program in Washington D.C. with the National Academy of Social Insurance. She holds an MPP and MSW and has direct practice experience in the fields of crisis intervention and child welfare.    

Paula Rusca is the Lab Manager for the BIP Lab where she develops research protocols, timelines and manages research submissions to the Institutional Review Board. She works directly with our research coordinators to manage field work activities and project implementation. In her time at the lab she has hired and trained over 60 research assistants and worked on three of the lab’s largest randomized control trials. Before coming to the BIP Lab, she completed a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. She has experience in community based participatory research, program validation, survey development and curriculum development for low literacy settings and experience working within a community empowerment model.

Ana Arellano Jimenez is the Research Coordinator for the BIP Lab. Ana brings to the Lab a range of experience in community engagement, marketing communications, and data analysis. Prior to joining Harris, Ana was the project assistant for Whole Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she led the website redesign project. Previously, she did community engagement for the City of Madison’s Planning Division on the Comprehensive Plan, where she also conducted data analysis. Ana holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Diana Ahmad is the Project Assistant for the BIP Lab where she provides technical and administrative support for the lab’s research projects. Before joining the BIP Lab, Diana assisted in an ongoing research project involving children’s development of early math skills at The Center for Early Childhood Research at the University of Chicago. Prior to that, she was a teaching fellow at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, where she led an after-school teaching program with a focus on child development, reflective practice, design thinking, and classroom management. Diana received her B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.