Brittany Blizzard, PhD

Experience

• 

  International Institute of Buffalo

  Oct 2012 - Jan 2015

  • Coordinated employment assistance and case management for refugees and immigrants• Completed federal program applications for the Office of Refugee Resettlement• Assisted clients in pre-employment tasks including application assistance, onboarding paperwork and testing, and opening bank accounts • Outreached to 600+ clients through financial literacy classes• Established and coordinated the 2014 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program site at the International Institute• Awarded $800 by the United Way to host a financial wellness resource fair

  • Refugee Support Specialist

    Oct 2014 - Jan 2015

  • Opportunity Corps Member

    Oct 2012 - Oct 2014
• 

  University at Buffalo

  Oct 2016 - Jun 2017

  Graduate Research Assistant

  • Coauthored a case study published in SAGE Research Methods Cases on the meta-synthesis research method and process• Constructed a historical timeline to organize research on the revitalization of public housing in Toronto• Designed a web of connected actors and stakeholders based on the meta-synthesis of public housing materials

• 

  Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc

  Feb 2018 - Aug 2018

  Housing Specialist

  • Managed a caseload of 400+ clients• Consistently met 45-day goal for client recertifications• Adjusted client benefits as needed according to income changes

• 

  American University

  Aug 2018 - now

  • Provide graduate-level instruction for Foundations of Policy Analysis course• Teach students to write an evidence-based policy memo by translating policy problems into actionable and measurable goals• Monitor student progress and privately tutor struggling students • Created and executed public policy research studies independently• Led research teams of PhD students and professors to conduct policy analysis and draft papers for peer-reviewed journals; analyzed statistical models and cleaned large datasets using Stata• Designed and conducted semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders to collect original qualitative data

  • Adjunct Professor

    May 2022 - now

  • Research Assistant

    Aug 2018 - Apr 2022
• 

  CityBridge Education

  Dec 2018 - Feb 2020

  Program Evaluation Consultant

  • Jointly led a team of 3 co-PIs to evaluate the success of the client’s design principles in 8 DC public and charter schools; served as PI for 4 schools in the study• Led interviews and focus groups of key stakeholders and conducted classroom observations; analyzed qualitative data using NVivo• Completed interim deliverables, final case study report for each school, and cumulative report on findings

• 

  Migration Policy Institute

  May 2019 - Dec 2019

  • Hired on as temporary researcher on the U.S. immigration team following internship period; continued to produce coauthored content with MPI staff analysts published in the Migration Information Source, producing a total of 6 articles • Coauthored 6 articles with staff policy analysts on U.S. immigrant profiles and immigration trends/policies• Constructed a database on skilled labor shortage using Stata• Composed 2 literature reviews on immigrant employment issues

  • Research Assistant

    Aug 2019 - Dec 2019

  • U.S. Immigration Research Intern

    May 2019 - Aug 2019
• 

  M2 HEALTH CARE CONSULTING

  Feb 2021 - Aug 2021

  Researcher

  • Composed briefs on state and federal telemedicine regulatory changes during the COVID-19 public health emergency• Drafted sections of working papers on telehealth in maternity care for The Commonwealth Fund which led to a published report for policymakers• Reviewed and edited final manuscripts for accuracy

• 

  CommonSpirit Health

  Dec 2023 - now

  Research Grants Program Manager

  • Lead and direct multiple moderate to large projects across the system ensuring alignment withbroader organizational strategic goals.• Manage the PCORI Health Systems Implementation Initiative, overseeing operational aspectsand spearheading capacity-building activities.• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure seamless execution of projects.