Lisa Hurwitz

About Lisa Hurwitz

I\'m an education researcher with over a decade of experience in the preK-12 children\'s media, digital learning, and educational technology (edtech) space. I lead a team of highly skilled mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative researchers in conducting efficacy research (experimental and quasi-experimental studies aligned with ESSA criteria), learning analytics / educational data mining, psychometrics, and user research (interviews, focus groups, surveys). My research has been published in academic peer-reviewed journals such as New Media & Society, Computers & Education, and Child Development and featured in news outlets, including the Chicago Tribune and Education Week. I currently sit on the editorial review board for Journal of Computer Assisted Learning and Journal of Children and Media. I\'ve received numerous awards for my research, including highly competitive top dissertation awards from both the Society for Research in Child Development and International Communication Association.

Experience

1. Director of Research & Product Strategy

   Newsela

   Nov 2024 — Present

   Lead the strategic vision and execution for all primary research at Newsela, spanning ESSA-aligned efficacy and implementation studies, user research, foundational and market research, literature reviews, advanced analytics (e.g, psychometrics, educational data mining), and moreo Direct and coach team to execute complex mixed-methods research projects, producing 4-6 externally-facing studies and ~20 internally-facing reports annually• Guide strategic growth initiatives: identify and evaluate new opportunities for platform-level product development and lead business case reviews for new features and functionalityo Manage and mentor Content Product Managers responsible for ELA, Social Studies, and Science product and content roadmaps, ensuring alignment with overall product strategy and execution timelines• Serve as an internal expert on the science of reading, instructional technology, and broader learning science topics• Oversee Newsela’s external Technical Advisory Council of leading subject matter experts• Manage a team of 6 (currently 3 researchers and 3 content product managers) and external vendors

Education

• Northwestern University

  Master of Arts (MA), Media, Technology and Society

  2012 — 2013

• Northwestern University

  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Media, Technology and Society

  2012 — 2017

• New York University

  BA (Magna Cum Laude), Psychology (High Honors) and Spanish Language/Literature

  2006 — 2010

Skills

• Social Networking
• Data Coding
• Research
• Stata
• Social Media
• Marketing
• Statistics
• Community Outreach
• Teaching
• Spss
• Microsoft Office
• Program Evaluation
• Psychology
• Jmp
• Facebook
• R
• Event Planning
• Child Development