Meet the Team
We're a small team of researchers, data strategists, and evaluation specialists who are passionate about helping organizations use evidence to drive impact.
Anne-Marie Hoxie, PhD
Founder & President
Anne-Marie has spent 20+ years working at the intersection of research, evaluation, and organizational learning in education. She has led research teams at the NYC Department of Education, served as Chief Research Officer at Relay Graduate School of Education, and headed education research at Teachers Pay Teachers.
She holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Fordham University and has designed and conducted hundreds of evaluation studies focused on youth development, teacher preparation, and educational technology.
Anne-Marie founded TRAIL because she saw talented nonprofit leaders spending more time wrestling with data than serving their communities. She believed there was a better way—one that built learning practices and organizational capacity, not just delivered one-time reports.
Expertise:
✓️ Measurement framework design
✓️ Organizational learning systems
✓️ Youth development evaluation
✓️ Educational program evaluation
Rebecca Abramson
Director of Analytics
Rebecca has supported non-profit and education teams to leverage data, research, and equity principles to catalyze positive change for over a decade. She has led comprehensive data collection initiatives, crafted and implemented dynamic dashboards, spearheaded internal and external reporting endeavors, conducted data-use training efforts, and managed continuous improvement projects.
Expertise:
✓️ Data infrastructure & dashboard design
✓️ Analytics strategy for nonprofits
✓️ Data visualization & reporting systems
✓️ Strategic decision support
Alison De Leon Escobar
Research Assistant
Alison DeLeon Escobar is pursuing a doctoral degree in Applied Developmental Psychology at Fordham University. She has research expertise in protocol development, data management and analysis, and mixed methodologies. She is dedicated to translating research findings into actionable insights that can facilitate informed decision-making and strategic planning.
Expertise:
✓️ Qualitative & quantitative data collection
✓️ Data cleaning & analysis
✓️ Program evaluation support
✓️ Stakeholder engagement
Mele Lau-Smith
Strategy Consultant
Mele has spent 35 years working at the intersection of public health and public education, with a particular focus on anti-racist policy and social justice practice. She was most recently Senior Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Superintendent. Mele has deep experience partnering with community groups on organizing and strategic planning, and brings expertise in evaluation, policy analysis and development, and mobilizing stakeholders to support students and families. Mele grew up in San Francisco and attended SFUSD public schools. That grounding shapes her commitment to strengthening the systems and partnerships that support students and families in the same community that raised her.
Expertise:
✓️ Community organizing and partnership building
✓️ Strategic planning and evaluation
✓️ Stakeholder mobilization and engagement
Mike Jolley
Strategic Partnership Consultant
For more than 20 years, Mike has worked with community-based organizations, education nonprofits, grantmakers, and capacity-building organizations nationwide, as well as schools, school districts, higher education institutions, and local, state, and federal agencies. He brings a background in youth development, college and career readiness, social-emotional learning, and professional learning for educators. He holds a BA in Sociology from the University of South Florida and Masters and MPhil degrees in Sociology from the CUNY Graduate Center. Over the last 12 years, Mike has also conducted extensive qualitative data collection, landscape analysis, and best-practice research in areas such as youth workforce development, foster youth systems and supports, teacher preparation, and teacher evaluation.
Expertise:
✓️ Organizational development and governance
✓️ Leadership development and change management
✓️ Strategic partnerships and talent acquisition
✓️ Qualitative research and landscape analysis
Jordan Owen
Senior Analyst Consultant
Jordan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Economics and International Studies. She began her career in data analytics at Education Analytics, a small nonprofit providing research-backed analytics and reporting to school districts, foundations, and nonprofits that would not otherwise have access to these tools. There, she built her coding, data management, and project management skills. In 2024, she opened Jordan Owen Consulting, LLC, where she contracts with organizations to build lightweight metrics and bespoke reporting solutions. She is committed to making data work approachable and transparent for the clients and collaborators she partners with.
Expertise:
✓️ Custom data visualization & reporting design
✓️ Data management & coding
✓️ Advanced analytics
Yvonne Wang
Senior Evaluation Consultant
Yvonne is an education researcher and strategist who transforms data into decisions. Her experience spans the NYC Department of Education and the nonprofit sector, where she has led school quality initiatives affecting 1,800 schools, designed program evaluation frameworks, and helped organizations translate complex data into clear stories of impact. She currently serves on the board of The Teacher Salary Project.
Expertise:
✓️ Strategic planning & organizational design
✓️ Translating strategy into actionable frameworks
✓️ Continuous learning systems for education organizations
Pam Pradachith-Demler, MPA
Program Evaluation Consultant
Pam has spent more than 20 years advancing equitable outcomes for children, youth, and families through cross-sector collaboration, community engagement, strategic planning, evaluation, and systems change. Pam holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and a B.A. from Columbia University. Her work centers on strengthening partnerships among schools, government agencies, nonprofits, and communities to improve opportunities and outcomes for young people. A Lao refugee and former youth organizer, Pam's commitment to social justice began as a participant and later staff member at the East Bay Asian Youth Center in Berkeley, California. Her work is grounded in a deep belief that communities thrive when young people and families have access to the relationships, resources, and opportunities they need to reach their full potential.
Expertise:
✓️ Cross-sector partnership building
✓️ Community engagement strategy
✓️ Youth development systems change
✓️ Program evaluation and strategic planning
Ready to Work With Us?
Schedule a free discovery call to discuss your organization's needs.
