QDRL Profiles

Leadership Team

Kristen Miller, Ph.D.

QDRL Director

Kristen Miller, Ph.D., Senior Methodologist, directs the Question Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) within the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC.  Her writings have focused on question comparability, including question design and equivalence for lower SES respondents and the improvement of evaluation methods for cross-cultural and cross-national testing studies.  She is a co-editor of two survey methodology books: Cognitive Interviewing Methodology (2014) and Question Evaluation Methods (2011).  Through her tenure at NCHS, she has led collaborative international testing projects with statistical agencies and organizations including the European Social Survey, the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the United Nations.  Dr. Miller holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Delaware.

Karen Whitaker

Program Specialist

Karen Whitaker joined the QDRL in 1993.  Whitaker oversees and manages the administrative and logistical aspects of the operations of the QDRL.  These include budget, contracts and reimbursable agreements, study protocols and clearance packages for submission to the Center’s Research Ethics Review Board and OMB, procurement of hardware and software to support QDRL operations, respondent recruitment, and respondent remuneration.

Stephanie Willson, PhD

Principal Investigator/Data Quality Steward

Dr. Stephanie Willson received her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Delaware.  After teaching for several years at Tri-County Technical College in South Carolina, she joined NCHS in 2001 as a Survey Statistician on the National Survey of Family Growth.  In 2004 she joined the QDRL and is currently a Senior Survey Methodologist there.  Her research interests include advancing cognitive interviewing methodology, especially in the areas of construct validity and question design principles.

Principle Investigators

Sheba K. Dunston, EdD, MPH, CHES

Principle Investigator

Dr. Dunston joined the QDRL in August 2014 as a Senior Service Fellow/ Principle Investigator.  In this role, she facilitates the full planning and execution of question design and survey evaluation studies to test, develop and improve survey questions. 

Previously as a Senior Social Scientist with the US Army Public Health Command, she helped coordinate mixed methods and qualitative studies on behavioral health outcomes of active duty soldiers. Prior to working for the army, she was the Project Manager for a health education program and research project teaching pregnant women how to care for their babies.   Dr. Dunston has several years of qualitative and mixed method research experience, as well as experience in health education, health promotion and health disparities research.

Dr. Dunston received an EdD in Health Education, from Columbia University, an MPH from Drexel University, with a focus on community health, and a BS from Syracuse University.

Sarah Lessem, ABD, MRes

Principal Investigator

Sarah Lessem began working at the QDRL in June 2014.  As a behavioral scientist, she conducts cognitive interviews, analyzes data, writes reports, and presents the findings.  Additionally, Lessem is QDRL’s resident “quantoid” and uses quantitative methods to analyze question design.

Lessem has worked in evaluation for over 10 years, including projects relating to domestic violence and violence prevention, educational systems, homeless teens, Farm-to-School gardens, bicycle advocacy, banking, and binge drinking.  She also specializes in communicating population-level data to non-academic audiences and has worked with colleagues to develop a chartbook on Wisconsin’s 2010 demographics and poverty and food insecurity in each county in the state.

Lessem is in the process of completing a PhD is sociology and a masters in population health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Her work focuses on response error in population-based survey data.  She has a Masters of Research (MRes) in psychology from the University of Ulster-Coleraine in Northern Ireland and a bachelor’s of Science in psychology with a statistics minor from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Meredith Massey, PhD, MEd

Principal Investigator

Dr. Massey joined the QDRL in 2012.  She facilitates the full planning and execution of question design and survey evaluation studies to test, develop and improve survey questions. 

Prior to joining the QDRL, Dr. Massey worked on several large scale health communication studies related to long-term care, patient-provider communication and HIV linkage to care outreach. Previously, Dr. Massey was a professor at Prince Georges Community College for 12 years.

Dr. Massey received a PhD in Public Health, from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, an MEd from Framingham State College, and a BA from Warren Wilson College.

Paul Scanlon, PhD.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Paul Scanlon, a Survey Methodologist, has been with the QDRL since 2012.  Dr. Scanlon is one of the QDRL’s Principal Investigators, and leads various survey and questionnaire evaluation projects.  Additionally, Dr. Scanlon is directing the Office of Research and Methodology’s Research and Development Survey (RANDS), which will explore new ways for NCHS to capture health data and evaluate survey questions.  Dr. Scanlon’s research interests include proxy and cross-cultural response patterns, and how respondents’ privacy and confidentiality concerns effect survey response.  He holds a B.S. and a B.Phil. from the Pennsylvania State University and received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Georgia, where his dissertation research focused on cognitive anthropology and food studies.  Prior to coming to NCHS Paul was a Presidential Management Fellow, and worked at both the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey Office and the Office of Management and Budget’s office of Statistical and Science Policy.

Marko Salvaggio

Principal Investigator

Marko Salvaggio joined the QDRL team in October 2014 as an Associate Service Fellow to help evaluate the construct validity of survey questions for the National Center for Health Statistics.  His primary roles include cognitive interviewing, qualitative data analysis, report writing, and developing scholarly journal articles.

Salvaggio is currently a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).  His research expertise and interests include qualitative methodology (e.g., ethnography, participant observation, in-depth interviewing, and grounded theory), culture, and environmental health.  At UNLV, he was a lead investigator for the 2010 Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey (LVMASS) project.  This project is a longitudinal study designed for the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition (SNRPC) to track Las Vegas valley residents’ knowledge, attitudes, and concerns about sustainability issues in Southern Nevada.  Salvaggio has also conducted qualitative research about ecotourism in several Latin American countries, the Caribbean, Europe, and Central Asia.   

Candace Sibley, MSPH

Principal Investigator

Candace Sibley began her service with Question Design Research Lab at NCHS in July 2014 as an Associate Service Fellow/ Principal Investigator. Her duties include conducting and analysis of question evaluation data with the aim of improving the performance of survey items in various topical areas.

Before her tenure at the QDRL, Sibley worked with a number underserved populations including Native American, Men who have sex with Men and Fostered Youth. Her private and public sector work included leading evaluation and research technical assistance to improve social change efforts of communities. She worked as a Robert Wood Johnson Evaluation Fellow and health equity liaison on the Communities Putting Prevention to Work project for over 20 communities and 3 tribal communities. Her areas of specialty include mixed methods research, socio-cultural studies, social marketing and sexuality studies.

Sibley completed a B.A. in Medical Anthropology at University of North Texas and a Master of Science in Community and Family Health at University of South Florida. She is a member of and has presented at meetings for the Society for Medical Anthropology, Society for Applied Anthropology, American Evaluation Association, American Public Health Association, National Association of Ethnic Studies and Eta Sigma Gamma.

Support Staff (contractors)

Lee Burch

Project Manager

Lee Burch started working at NCHS 2002. He is the President of Swan Solutions and serves as a Project Manager in the office of Research Methodology (ORM) for QDRL and RDC.   In his role as Project Manager he has overseen the design, development, testing, documentation and implementation, of the Q-Suite of software applications.  He and his staff have provided all C&A, EPLC, and 508 processes as well as IT support services, video support services, video data base, respondent recruitment services, and supplemental staffing for QDRL.  Burch and his staff also provides IT support, C&A services, and OARS project coordination and support services for RDC.    

Burch has worked throughout his career in health care and health related industries, including hospitals, NIH, World Health Organization, World Food Organization, and World Bank and IMF. Additionally he has been responsible for various non-health related projects such as Security and Access Control Systems for the White House and IT Data Center construction and operations for the Secret Service.

Previously, Burch has held positions including VP of International Operations, Vice President, Group General Manager, and Director of Professional Services for major consulting and technology firms. Burch holds a BS in Business and Finance from the University of Baltimore.

Luis Cortes

Q-Bank Administrator/Video Indexer

Luis Cortes joined the QDRL in 2013 as a video indexer. His duties included: managing the QDRL’s video database, translating instruments from English to Spanish, and indexing videos for further analyses. Cortes has taken on further responsibilities and is now the Q-Bank Administrator. His duties include: tracking and responding to Q-Notes and Q-Bank inquiries encountered in the systems, tracking and developing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) for Q-Notes and Q-Bank most common concerns, ensuring disability accessibility compliance on QDRL reports and presentations, and updating Q-Bank and Q-Notes User Guides with current content. Cortes also conducts cognitive interviews and co-edits reports on QDRL publications.

Cortes completed a BA in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is currently a Graduate Student in Clinical Psychological Science at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research interests include the dissemination of evidence-based treatment and lifespan development approaches to mental treatment for Latinas/os with Major Depression.

Lauren Creamer

Recruiter

Lauren Creamer joined the QDRL in 2011 as a video indexer.   In 2013, Creamer became the recruiter for the QDRL.  In this role, she develops and implements strategies to recruit participants for cognitive interview studies.  In addition to recruiting, Creamer conducts cognitive interviews and co-authors reports on the findings of the interviews.

Prior to joining the QDRL, Creamer gained valuable management, logistical planning, and professional networking experience while working as an Office Manager and Customer Service Representative.  Creamer has volunteered with the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center at PGHC, the DC Rape Crisis Center, and the Sumanahalli Leprosy and HIV Rehabilitation Center.   Through her volunteer work, Creamer has over 3 years of experience working with sensitive populations.

Creamer earned a BA in Sociology with a minor in Technology Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Kirit Joshi, MBA

IT Process Consultant

Kirit Joshi joined NCHS in October 2010 as an IT Process Consultant for QDRL and RDC IT Applications including Q-Suite and OARS.  In this capacity, he provides managing of all C&A, EPLC, and 508 Compliance processes as well as application testing and user documentation for various applications developed by Swan Solutions.

During his career spanning over 30 years, Joshi has provided IT services to various industries (healthcare, financial services, entertainment, telecom, and pharmaceuticals) as well as public sector (federal, state and local governments and universities).  He also owned and operated his own businesses in medical billing and video & film production/post-production.  Joshi also has trained and mentored over 300 IT consultants and over 1,500 project managers as well as developed and delivered a proprietary project management methodology.

Joshi received an MBA in finance & IT from Rutgers University, and BS in Physics & Math from Bombay University.

Justin Mezetin

Lead Systems Developer

Justin joined the QDRL in 2007 as a software developer. He was responsible the completion of the initial Q-Bank and Q-Bank Admin development and now its continuing enhancement. He is also the original developer of Q-Notes and Q-Notes Plus web-based analysis software. He is experienced in developing systems that conform to CDC C&A and 508 requirements. In this role, he also serves as a technical liaison within the QDRL, reviewing new and emerging technologies, analyzing CDC constraints and policies, assessing other data systems and programs for collaboration opportunities and determining alternative methods for enhancements to the Q-Suite to support the QDRL mission.

Mezetin earned a BS in Computer Science and AS in Engineering from Washington Adventist University.

Sean Murphy

IT Support

Sean Murphy is the QDRL’s IT support and system administrator. Murphy began working for the QDRL in a desktop support position in 2008 and later took on the responsibilities as the system administer. His responsibilities include maintaining, installing, and backing up software and hardware for the QDRL video system and  resolving any PC user issues that might come up for the QDRL team. After graduating from Coleman University he began an internship at AT&T and worked there for a year and a half. After his internship he worked as IT support at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula Mississippi.

Florencia Ramirez

Video Indexer

Florencia Ramirez joined the QDRL in 2012 as a video indexer/tagger. Her duties include: assisting analysts with the organization and dissemination of qualitative data, and translating instruments from English to Spanish. She also has co-authored reports on the findings of the interviews.

Ramirez is currently working towards completing a BS in Marketing and Business Management with a Minor in Portuguese, from the University of Maryland, College Park.