Dr. Catherine “Cathy” Horn
Director
College of Education Dean & Elizabeth D. Rockwell Chair

Catherine “Cathy” Horn, Ph.D., serves as director of the UH Education Research Center and dean of the UH College of Education. Horn’s research primarily focuses on the systemic influences of assessment and related policies on the learning trajectories of students, especially those traditionally underserved by the education and social sectors. Her work challenges an isolationist problem solving (or not solving) model and has resulted in co-creation of rigorous and shared value systems and research-based outcomes to improve educational equity. She also serves as executive director of the Institute for Education Policy Research and Evaluation and as director of the Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education. She earned a Ph.D. from Boston College, an M.Ed. from UH and a B.A. from Rice University.

Jeanette Narvaez
Executive Director of Operations

Jeanette Narvaez holds an M.B.A. from Texas A&M University and is director of operations and research dissemination of CREATE (The Center for Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education). Her responsibilities include program and fiscal management, as well as identification and development of collaborative program opportunities among the 58 member collaborative.

Sherri Lowrey
Director of Research

Sherri Lowrey holds a master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Nebraska and currently serves as associate director of research at the CREATE. In that role she manages CREATE’s research agenda, develops and manages professional development for university faculty and school district personnel and manages CREATE’s data warehouse and production of the Performance Analysis for Colleges of Education (PACE), a school-focused data book provided yearly to all consortium universities. She also manages the production of another school centered data book, the Data Reporting Tool for Schools (DaRTS).

Dr. Toni Templeton  
Senior Research Scientist

Toni Templeton, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Houston Education Research Center. In her role, she writes policy evaluation reports commissioned by state agencies, investigates research questions posed by advocacy organizations and nonprofits, as well as conducts grant-funded research. In addition to commissioned work, she conducts academic research that seeks to influence policy and practice by illuminating inequity in public education system, with particular focus on educational outcomes and school finance.

Dr. Fiza Mairaj
Research Scientist

Fiza Mairaj is interested in exploring the intersection of education and immigration policies, and how these policies shape educational integration experiences of newly arrived refugee and asylee students in public schools.  Her research also explores how non-state actors, such as private and nonprofit organizations, influence the educational outcomes of these marginalized student populations. Mairaj has expertise in qualitivative and mixed methods research design. She received her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from The University of Texas at Austin and is passionate about advancing social justice and equity in education and seeks to inform and improve the development of effective and inclusive policies and practices.