Sandra Staklis

Sandra Staklis conducts research and provides technical assistance in the areas of secondary and postsecondary career and technical education, workforce education and development, and program evaluation. She has experience working with federal and state agencies as well as nonprofit organizations.

Her experience includes directing third-party evaluations of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) consortium grant programs in Hawaii, Kansas, and Montana, and a middle-skill retail training program for Goodwill Industries International. She is also leading the evaluation of the New Skills for Youth Program, a competitive grant program for states supporting innovations in the expansion and development of career pathways.

As the customized technical assistance to states task lead for the Improving Program Performance contract for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), Dr. Staklis has worked with more than a dozen states to improve the quality, comprehensiveness, and use of career and technical education data, and on integrating these data in state longitudinal data systems. She has also authored studies on career and technical education topics for the National Center for Innovation in Career and Technical Education and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Dr. Staklis was previously a senior research associate at MPR Associates, which RTI acquired in 2013. Her background also includes work at the Institute for College Access and Success, Escuela Nueva International, and Stanford University. She is a member of the American Evaluation Association and was past president of the Oregon Program Evaluators Network.