Our People

Hezel Associates Promotes Byrnes, Hires Irvine and Cossa
 
Dolores Byrnes has been promoted this month to senior research analyst.   Dr. Byrnes is responsible for contributing to key higher education research projects. An employee of Hezel Associates since 2007, Dr. Byrnes has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of education and information management. Just prior to joining Hezel Associates, she was a researcher and staff anthropologist for the University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library Digital Initiatives Unit. She holds a doctorate and a master's degree in anthropology from Cornell University, and a master's degree in information resources management from Syracuse University.
 
Hezel Associates hired Julia Irvine this month as a research assistant in PK-12.  She is responsible for a number of administrative and organizational duties associated with the five-year PBS TeacherLine project, including research participant communication, creating and maintaining project materials and data entry.  Irvine has previously contributed to organization and system management in medical and legal offices. 

José Cossa joined Hezel Associates this month as a research analyst in higher education.  He has more than ten years of experience in academia and public affairs, taking interdisciplinary and international approaches to scholarship and research.  Dr. Cossa's previous work experience includes contributions in education, NGOs and Not-For-Profits within Mozambique, South Africa, and the United States.  Most recently, he was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Loyola, and he also has taught at Colgate University and Dominican universities.  He has a Ph.D. in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University of Chicago.  Dr. Cossa is nearing completion of a book which will be published by Cambria Press, entitled "Power, Politics, and Higher Education in Southern Africa: International Regimes, Local Governments, and Educational Autonomy."

 
Our Work
 
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Hezel Associates has been selected by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to conduct formative research with children ages 3-5 from low-income environments to test their responses to twelve individual interactive games as they relate to preliminary indicators of reading impact (e.g., appeal and navigation).  The project, PBS Kids Raising Readers, is the literacy learning initiative funded through the Ready to Learn grant.  This joint venture between The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, The Ready to Learn Partnership, and the U.S. Department of Education was established to address literacy learning in children between the ages of two and eight, especially those children from low-income families.
 
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