Lydia Killos

Dr. Lydia F. Killos is a Senior Advisor for Special Projects at CEPR, where she develops and maintains research partnerships between educational organizations and Strategic Data Project (SDP) fellows. She leads multi-site evaluations, designs impactful studies and research tools, and translates complex data to drive educational and organizational change.

Prior to joining CEPR, Lydia led the Measurement and Evaluation team at Per Scholas, expanding research capacity and managing a large-scale randomized control trial. As an SDP Fellow with IDEA Public Schools, she helped drive the design and implementation of a school climate initiative and helped to raise over $250 million dollars to benefit nearly 80,000 students. In addition to her work in education, she has made substantial contributions to child welfare, serving as Senior Research Associate at Casey Family Programs and providing expert consultation on policy, program development, and system performance across multiple states.

Lydia is recognized for her ability to foster collaborative partnerships and mentor the next generation of researchers. Her research publications, focused on child welfare policy, educational equity, and health disparities, have appeared in prominent journals such as Children and Youth Services Review, Child Welfare, Journal of American College Health, and Journal of College Student Development. Lydia holds a Ph.D. in Community Psychology from the University of Virginia, where she was also an Institute of Education Sciences Fellow.