Rebecca R Block, PhD

Experience

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  University of Louisville

  Jan 2005 - Jun 2010

  University Fellow

  Assistant Director in the Writing Center, Graduate teaching assistant (teaching courses in business and professional writing, technical and scientific writing, creative writing, and college composition), writing tutor.

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  Daytona State College

  Jun 2010 - Jul 2015

  Writing Center Director and Professor of Writing

  I founded DSC's multi-campus/online College Writing Center, growing it from a department of one to a department of over 30 FT employees, PT employees, student workers, and faculty volunteers across six campuses. During my tenure as Director, the CWC became one of the only joint-use writing centers in the US, serving students from both the University of Central Florida and Daytona State, as well as the Adult Education program, and I helped secure an independent line of funding from the state legislature for this purpose. This expanded access was driven by student demand from all three programs (we doubled student usage every semester for the first three semesters, and student attendees averaged higher grades and retention rates that faculty attributed to the support received in the CWC) I also established the CWC as the first student-services department at the college to utilize data-driven assessment practices; my success in this effort led the college to ask me to help other student-service departments build their assessment capacities, helping us achieve a successful re-accreditation.As an administrator, I managed a $1M annual budget, supervised full-time, part-time, and volunteer staff, trained tutors and faculty, oversaw the development of DSC's WAC/WID faculty professional development program (which led to measurable improvements in student grades and completion rates, see "Improving Success" below), and served on college-wide leadership committees for assessment design, re-accreditation processes, and more.Simultaneously, I served as a faculty member, where I taught courses in writing and research (averaging 95% positive ratings from students), served on Faculty Senate (including successfully leading a previously stalled initiative to redesign the college's tenure and promotion system), published scholarly articles and poetry in peer-reviewed journals (see all links below), presented at conferences, obtained tenure, and was promoted to full professor. Show less

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  The Future Project

  Jul 2015 - Aug 2019

  The Future Project is a non-profit organization focused on helping young people unlock their potential and create a better future for themselves and their communities through mentorship, leadership development, and taking action on their goals and aspirations. Championed & strengthened organizational capacity for continuous improvement by leading internal data collection software development and partnering in grant renewals.✅ DELIVERED RESULTS● Empowered and trained colleagues to integrate and act on data measures. ● Facilitated monthly data-driven adjustments to program delivery.● Product-managed our in-house software development to increase data fidelity and outcome achievement by improving usability and addressing user needs● Directed the organizational restructuring, enabling a strategic product pivot.● Established innovative program and product components with user input.● Led field staff in participatory design practices and collaboration to build, test, and iterate Show less As Principal Scientist at The Future Project, I collaborated directly with foundation program officers to share impact and learnings, helping close millions in grants. I also conducted original research into thriving and success, designed and launched the org's first external evaluation in partnership with UPenn, led the creation of a multi-year evaluation strategy, and established continuous learning and improvement processes throughout the organization. This included:✅ DELIVERED RESULTS● Integrated measures with real-time insights, resulting in 100% + increase in data collection.● Enabled faster, data-informed pivots for implementers that led to high annual goal completion.● Worked with key funders through influential communication, delivering learning and evaluation expertise, advocacy, and overall securing buy-in that led to $7M in grant acquisition and renewal Show less I established the Research and Evaluation department for The Future Project, spearheading the organization’s first major quantitative impact evaluation initiative. ✅ DELIVERED RESULTS● Setting up impact evaluation as an organizational function.● Management of two researchers● Helping to secure millions in foundation grant renewals● Doubling effective data collection and generating evidence of impact across all ~50 school sites by revamping our instruments to focus on the student user experience.● Oversaw the creation of an advanced survey instrument. Show less

  • Vice President, Organizational Learning and Improvement

    Sept 2018 - Aug 2019

  • Principal Scientist

    Jan 2017 - Sept 2018

  • Vice President, Reseach and Evaluation

    Jul 2015 - Jan 2017
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  Springboard Collaborative

  Aug 2019 - Aug 2024

  Springboard Collaborative partners with large and medium-sized public school districts to enhance literacy instruction in elementary schools. Oversaw and refined continuous improvement and innovative practices to enhance cost efficiency and stakeholder experience for the organization's programs and services, reaching and impacting over 20,000 users annually. ✅ DELIVERED RESULTS● Managed 2 high-performing teams focused on innovation and improvement, ● Executed hiring, promotions, restructuring, PD, and equitable design processes.● Partnered in Springboard's growth, demonstrating strategic growth and scaling capabilities.● Drove program innovation, improvement, and partnership management, piloting tech product changes.● Consistently achieved high manager satisfaction scores in the 90th percentile nationwide.● Provided strategic vision and product development acumen.● Implemented effective cost-saving measures and introduced a lean product lifestyle.● Reducing teacher administrative time by 30% and improvement time by 20%.● Applied change management practices to help colleagues across various teams.● Addressed user pain points, maximizing partner impact and organizational effectiveness. Show less Identified and collaborated with external evaluators, successfully advancing Springboard from ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Tier 4 to ESSA Tier 2 status, within less than a year.✅ DELIVERED RESULTS● Built and expanded evaluation capacity by equipping an evaluation and data analysis team.● Collaborated with the fundraising team to ensure clear and impactful communication ● Played a crucial role in securing and renewing at least $1M annually in grants.● Curated detailed updates for funders to maintain and renew grants.● Consistently receiving high praise for clarity and effectiveness in communication.● Enabled Springboard to expand partnerships and grow operations during the Pandemic.● Steered innovation processes, elevating participatory design and driving equity and inclusion in program development and improvement. Show less

  • Asst Vice President, Innovation and Improvement

    Jan 2023 - Aug 2024

  • Sr Director, Innovation & Evaluation

    Aug 2019 - Dec 2022
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  Phare, LLC

  Jan 2021 - now

  Learning & Program Development Consultant

  ● Program Evaluation & Scale – Consulted and strategized with leaders at Northwestern University to successfully secure over $100,000 in additional program funding, significantly boosting the Person Academic Tactical Health program's resources and capabilities.● Capacity Building – Partnered with nonprofit leaders to strengthen capacity-building processes for data-driven decision-making and evaluation ● Strategic Philanthropy for Young People – Engaged in strategy sessions with a large foundation to explore how philanthropy can empower young people to become effective diverse collaborators.● Course Design & Teacher professional development – Co-designed a course for high school students in motivation and executive functioning skills and coached the lead instructor on that course through pivots to successfully lead students to an average full-point increase in their GPA by one semester after taking the course. Subsequently trained and coached other H.S. teachers in incorporating academic motivation and EF techniques into their existing courses and materials.● Education Advocacy - Collaboratively researching and authored a book, “Can You Help Me Give a Sh*t: Unlocking Teen Motivation in School and Life,” exploring high school students' experiences nationwide and offering strategies for effectively fostering student motivation and voice, inside and outside the classroom.● Rubric & Assessment Design - Designed a rubric and assessment process for The Purpose Challenge, empowering adult reviewers to fairly and accurately evaluate student research and essay submissions with consistency and equity. Show less