LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
Jessica Abram
Leadership Committee Member
Jessica Abram, MPA is the founder and principal consultant of Bloom Education Consulting, a firm dedicated to strengthening educational systems through data-driven strategies. With a background as a middle school English teacher, Jessica witnessed firsthand the challenges of implementing new strategies without knowing whether previous efforts had made a lasting impact. This experience sparked her passion for helping organizations measure outcomes, make informed decisions, and create lasting improvements in education. Her expertise spans K-12 education, early childhood development, college and career access, and workforce development, with a focus on ensuring that systems are designed to work for underserved communities, including low-income families, students of color, and rural communities. Before founding Bloom Education, Jessica worked as a research consultant for institutions such as the World Bank, Higher Ed Insight, and the Regulatory Studies Center at The George Washington University. In these roles, she led strategic planning efforts and research initiatives for education clients, including K-12 schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations. She also served as Director of School Operations at KIPP Massachusetts, managing a $6.8M budget and leading human capital and operations systems to improve school procedures and policies. Jessica holds a Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University and is passionate about using data and evidence to drive systemic change and educational equity.
.png)
Danica Brown
Leadership Committee Member
Dr. Danica Brown is an experienced researcher and evaluator based in Greater New Orleans. She partners with organizations to transform data into meaningful community impact through mixed-methods evaluation and consulting. With expertise across education, youth programs, and community health, she supports capacity building, sustainability, and equity-centered decision-making. Dr. Brown’s work spans the Gulf Coast and beyond, helping organizations navigate challenges and drive systems change with a focus on educational justice and community empowerment.
Jana Fredricks
Treasurer
Jana Fredricks is the Founder and CEO of Hatch Creative Strategy, a New Orleans–based consultancy that partners with mission-driven organizations to design thoughtful evaluation systems and foster strategic clarity. With over 15 years of experience in the arts, culture, and environmental education sectors, Jana supports teams in measuring impact, aligning goals, and telling meaningful stories about their work. Her practice emphasizes equity, relationship-building, and learning—bringing both structure and creativity to complex, collaborative initiatives.
Jana’s evaluation work includes community-based projects, collective impact initiatives, and long-term systems-change efforts. She is especially passionate about advancing field-level learning and strengthening evaluation capacity across the Gulf South. As a GCEval Leadership Committee member, she helps grow connections between evaluators in the region and expand shared tools for reflection and growth.
Jana holds master’s degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Bologna, and a BFA from NYU.
Shannon Sharp
Secretary
Shannon is an Evaluation Associate at the University of Mississippi's Center for Research Evaluation (CERE). Though born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Shannon has been a southerner since leaving for college. She completed her Bachelor's in Psychology and Ph.D. in School Psychology, both at the University of Tennessee. After two post-docs in Durham, NC, she served as a PK-12 School Psychologist for 8 years in Walton County School District in GA.
Since moving to Oxford, MS in 2015, she served as the Associate Director of the UM's Psychological Assessment Clinic before switching careers and delving into evaluation at CERE. Now, over six years later, she applies her understanding of education, and especially higher education currently, to various projects with funders such as NIH, NSF and private foundations.
Elizabeth Sweeney
Vice Chair
Dr. Sweeney is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Center for Research Evaluation, where she works in the Children, Families, and Communities portfolio. Her professional background includes academic publishing, community development and engagement, and K-12 and higher education. She is grateful to continue to work in these areas as an evaluator to advance positive strides in her home state of Mississippi.
She has a PhD in Education and Master’s and Specialist degrees in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Mississippi, and a BA in Religious Studies from Millsaps College. In addition to her leadership role with GCEval, Elizabeth serves as managing editor for New Directions for Evaluation and Journal of Rural Social Sciences.
Albion Sumrell
Chair
Albion Sumrell is an Educational Consultant, supporting educational institutions and nonprofits with
program development and evaluation. He has worked with schools, colleges, and non-profits as an
administrator, teacher, counselor, and advisor. Through these professional experiences, he has gained a
more comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges of the PK-16+ educational pipeline,
especially as it relates to college and career preparation.
Albion received his B.A. in Psychology and French Studies from Emory University and his M.Ed. in School
Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. He recently graduated with his Ph.D. in
Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans. He is dedicated to researching and
developing effective practices for guiding youth and adults towards lucrative college and career
opportunities.