Areas of Expertise:
- Qualitative and mixed-methods research and evaluation
- Ethnographic and case study approaches
- Youth literacy, sociocultural theory, culturally responsive pedagogy
Alex has over twelve years of experience conducting applied educational research and evaluation with school leaders, teachers, and young people in and out of schools. He has taught English language arts and English as a second language in public schools, as well as college courses in teacher education, qualitative research design, and sociology. Alex served as an education specialist at the Massachusetts Department of Education, where he led capacity building and evaluation of out-of-school time programs. At Rockman et al, Alex has conducted external evaluations of informal STEM learning, youth media, social-emotional learning, and arts-integration programs, including projects funded by the National Science Foundation’s Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL), NSF’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Alex earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Boston College. Alex’s dissertation examined the role of corporate philanthropy in urban public education. Outside of work, Alex volunteers as the chair of fundraising at San Francisco Public Montessori School and enjoys hiking and biking in the Bay Area.
