Bio: Jacobus de Hoop works as a researcher (humanitarian policy specialist) at UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, where he supports the Transfer Project. His research examines how social protection programs implemented in developing countries and humanitarian contexts affect children and adolescents. Dr. de Hoop previously worked as a researcher at the International Labour Organization (ILO), was affiliated with the Paris School of Economics as a Marie Curie Post Doctoral Fellow, and worked for the World Bank as field manager on a study examining the effects of conditional and unconditional cash transfers in Malawi. Dr. de Hoop hold a PhD in economics from the Tinbergen Institute and VU University in Amsterdam.

Bio: Victoria Rothbard is an international development researcher with project experience focusing on education in humanitarian settings. She specializes in monitoring, evaluation, and research, with experience supporting projects funded by DfID, UNICEF, MCC, USAID, and UNW. Ms. Rothbard has conducted research in Jordan, Zambia, Kenya, and Nicaragua. She holds an MA in International Development Studies from The George Washington University and a BA from Binghamton University in Political Science and Arabic Language.

Bio: Hannah Ring is a senior researcher at American Institutes for Research where she supports qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis for numerous projects. She contributes to cost analyses, impact evaluations, performance evaluations, rapid qualitative assessments, and other research studies; manages impact and process evaluations of cash transfer programs in Africa, providing oversight and technical support to instrument design, enumerator training, data collection, data entry, analysis, and reporting; designs and leads qualitative research studies and qualitative evaluation components; trains local research teams in numerous African countries; analyzes data; and co-authors technical reports and presents findings to a variety of stakeholders. Technical areas of focus include cost effectiveness, nutrition, early childhood development, women’s empowerment, teacher retention, and education in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Ring manages two impact evaluations in Zambia, one of a large economic intervention (the national Social Cash Transfer program) and one of a bundled nutrition program (the First 1,000 Most Critical Days Program). As key components of these two impact evaluations, she also leads process and performance evaluations. She is responsible for the monitoring, evaluation, and research components of the USAID-funded GOAL Plus project in Liberia, where she has trained local data collectors, coordinated qualitative and quantitative data collection, and overseen data entry, management, and analysis.

Bio: Victoria Rothbard is an international development researcher with project experience focusing on education in humanitarian settings. She specializes in monitoring, evaluation, and research, with experience supporting projects funded by DfID, UNICEF, MCC, USAID, and UNW. Ms. Rothbard has conducted research in Jordan, Zambia, Kenya, and Nicaragua. She holds an MA in International Development Studies from The George Washington University and a BA from Binghamton University in Political Science and Arabic Language.

Bio: David Seidenfeld, vice president for American Institutes for Research's international research and evaluation work, has over ten years of experience conducting research for government agencies, development organizations, and NGOs. He has extensive experience designing and implementing evaluations of economic, health, and education programs. Dr. Seidenfeld manages over 25 researchers, oversees a portfolio of more than 20 research projects, and provides strategic vision for AIR’s growth.

Dr. Seidenfeld is currently the co-principal investigator (PI) on a five-year, multi-site randomized control trial of Zambia’s cash transfer programs and co-PI on a two-year impact evaluation of Zimbabwe’s cash transfer program. In addition to designing these studies, he trains and manages several teams of researchers, collaborates with the government, analyzes data and authors reports for the partners. His training in applied statistics and econometric methods provides him with powerful tools to investigate program impacts in challenging situations, while translating these technical and complex concepts to policymakers and funders. In addition to his work with AIR, Dr. Seidenfeld co-founded and supports the Impact Network, an NGO that brings eLearning and wrap around services to rural African schools.