My Professional Story
For twenty-five years, I have worked at the interface of science, policy, data, and decision making at the federal and the state level. From this experience, I assess the mechanisms and levers in projects for moving forward towards organizational goals. The well-understood but underused tools of data-driven and value-based decision making are key to this work. Also important is results-oriented management to ensure goals and performance measures take you towards your desired goals. Relying on the well-understood principle of "Starting with the End in Mind", I will provide advice for directing the project, keeping a firm view on the outcomes that are intended. Finding shared values among stakeholders is another important step on the path to success. Tools such as explicit incorporation of uncertainty, knowing what available data can tell you and when you have enough data to make a sound decision, and knowing when it is necessary to collect new data, including the use of expert elicitation, are all additional critical elements to this process, and ones in which I have experience leading, facilitating, analyzing, and providing guidance.
You can hear me talking about my career path in this interview with INFORMS from October 2022: https://pubsonline.informs.org/do/10.1287/orms.2023.01.31/full/
Kara Morgan, Ph.D.
From the United States Food and Drug Administration to the Ohio Board of Education, I have developed a personal blend of data-driven, value-based and outcome-focused decision making that I have applied to a wide range of natural science and social science policy topic areas over the past 20+ years. My full resume is available here and the most updated content can be found on my LinkedIn page.
Education
Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D., 1999
School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
Masters of Environmental Science, 1995
Michigan State University
Bachelors of Mathematics, 1989
Experience
Ohio State University. 3.5 years
College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Science, Center for Foodborne Illness, Research and Prevention
Ohio State Board of Education. 2 years
Battelle Memorial Institute. 3 years, Columbus, OH
United States Food and Drug Administration. 11 years
Office of the Commissioner and Office of Regulatory Affairs, 2003-2014
Research Triangle Institute. 4 years, Washington, DC office.
“If you don’t know where you are going,
you’ll end up someplace else.”