• Evaluating multi-year professional development and education programs for early childhood educators at Rutgers University Center for Children and Childhood Studies.

• Assessing a U.S. State Department-funded Rutgers University international civic learning project with Moldova State University, including site visits to the Republic of Moldova.
• Educational planning for an early college high school of science and engineering, at the University of Hartford, including research for and writing the school’s Plan of Operation to meet Connecticut Department of Education magnet school requirements.
• A national research project documenting models of and make recommendations for financing early college high schools around the country.
• Research for the John Templeton Foundation to support development of the UCLA national survey on college students’ beliefs and values.

 

As a senior academic affairs administrator at the Connecticut Department of Higher Education (DHE) for 14 years, Liesa evaluated a diverse range of collegiate degree programs for state approval, with particular expertise in professional preparation programs in education, healthcare and human services, as well as conducting evaluations for institutional accreditations.  In this capacity she conducted approximately 25 evaluations annually.  As the Department’s primary liaison to the Connecticut Department of Education, Liesa participated in approximately 3 to 6 site evaluation visits a year to assess the state’s teacher preparation programs for state approval.  She also managed and contributed to state and regional policy and program planning initiatives in the areas of public school education; healthcare and social service delivery; and adult education, literacy, and employment training. 

Prior to DHE, Liesa was Director of Evaluation for a Hartford (CT) regional human service planning agency.  Between 2000 and 2002, she directed a national project at the University of Massachusetts Boston to promote service learning and civic engagement at 10 diverse colleges and universities.

Liesa has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois.  She teaches in the International Studies Program at Saint Joseph College, Connecticut, and previously taught in the anthropology and international relations departments at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  She has been a Senior Research Associate for Rutgers University Center for Children and Childhood Studies since 2003.  She has made numerous presentations at professional and academic organizations and has co-authored two books and published several articles.  She currently serves on the Board of the Eastern Evaluation Research Society (www.eers.org), and the Executive board of the Journal of College and Character, who which she is the Book Review Editor.