Mariel Sparr, Ph.D., M.A.
Associate Director
Mariel Sparr has more than 15 years of experience in applied research and evaluation in the areas of implementation quality, early childhood education, workforce development, and home visiting. She has technical expertise in qualitative and quantitative research designs, measure development, data collection and analysis, and program evaluation. She is skilled in planning and facilitating training, learning collaboratives, and workgroups for local programs and practitioners.
Sparr currently leads the Supporting and Strengthening the Home Visiting Workforce project. She also serves as a senior advisor and study lead for the Home Visiting Assessments of Implementation Quality project examining race equity in home visiting and leads the caregiver consultations component of a study on Supporting Family Economic Well-Being Through Home Visiting. Sparr is also a study team member for the Home Visitor Communication Techniques toolkit designed to strengthen home visiting’s impact on parental engagement in children’s education.
Previously, Sparr led the development of issue briefs and blog posts for the National Home Visiting Resource Center. Other past roles include project director for the Support for the Discretionary Grant Information System Office of Management and Budget Package and assistant project director for Improving Programs, Policies, and Services to Promote Healthy Development in Middle Childhood in Afterschool Settings. Sparr was also a JBA team lead and technical assistance specialist for the Design Options for Home Visiting Evaluation project.
Sparr received a Ph.D. in child development from Erikson Institute/Loyola University and an M.A. in educational psychology from the University of Nebraska.