Stephen Plank

As vice president of Research, Evaluation, Evidence, and Data at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Stephen Plank balances several responsibilities. These include advancing evidence-based practices; commissioning social policy research; overseeing evaluations of Casey programs and initiatives; supporting innovative research methodologies and data resources; and building local capacity to produce and use data to inform programs, planning, and policy reform.

Plank’s expertise — cultivated over 25 years — is in leveraging data, research, and evaluation in the areas of education, school improvement, and college and career readiness. Additionally, he has collaborated with experts in public health, housing, workforce training, and other human service fields.

Prior to joining Casey, Plank served as a managing researcher at the nonprofit American Institutes for Research, one of the largest behavioral and social science research and evaluation organizations in the world. Earlier in his career, Plank directed research and evaluation at the Corporation for National and Community Service — the federal agency that administered AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Social Innovation Fund — and spent 18 years as a faculty member and research scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.