Melanie LaForce

Melanie LaForce is a seasoned professional with fifteen years of experience in education research and evaluation, specializing in education policy.

She is renowned for her work as the creator of integrated STEM education policy development and benchmarks at local, state, and international levels, emphasizing equity and social psychology.

Melanie excels in strategic planning, rigorous research methods, innovative research design, and effective communication to ensure the usability of her findings for ongoing collaborative initiatives.

As the principal investigator of The STEM School Study (S3) funded by the National Science Foundation and the USE Alliance partnership, she has a proven track record of leading impactful research initiatives.

Her expertise includes policy development, social psychology, equity, integrated STEM education, strategic planning, rigorous quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, implementation research, targeted and personalized research, and program evaluation.

Melanie LaForce holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Social Psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Currently, Melanie serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Principal Investigator at Laforce Research, building on her prior experiences as a Senior Consultant at Bridge To English, Stem Education Research Director at Mission Measurement, Adjunct Faculty at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and in various roles at The University of Chicago.

Apart from her professional achievements, Melanie has also been involved as a Skater and Trainer at Windy City Rollers and as a Research Analyst at Chicago Public Schools.