This month, Measurement Resources Company (MRC) is excited to highlight Liesel Seryak, our Research Associate. With her PhD in Public Health from The Ohio State University, Liesel is a client-focused and experienced researcher. Her background in risk assessment, communication within uncertainty, and evidence-based decision-making guides her consulting approach with clients.
As a Research Associate at MRC, Liesel supports our nonprofit and government clients by leading research and evaluation efforts that improve program effectiveness across health, social services, and academic sectors. She conducts needs assessments, develops logic models, and carries out program evaluations that draw on organizational, population, and community-level data. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, Liesel collects and analyzes data to help partners understand their impact, identify areas for improvement, and make informed, data-driven decisions. Her work strengthens clients’ ability to measure inputs, outputs, and outcomes, ultimately enhancing their programs and the communities they serve.
Liesel currently leads multi-year program evaluations for three National Science Foundation-funded projects in collaboration with principal investigators from universities across the U.S., including a Research Coordination Network called “Online Content for Experiential Learning of Tropical Systems (OCELOTS).” She also contributes her expertise to projects with partners such as Children’s Hunger Alliance and Ideastream Public Media, among others.
The OCELOTS network brings together tropical biology researchers, active learning pedagogy specialists, software developers, and media experts to create an open-access, online resource library of learning modules in tropical biology. Liesel and the MRC team co-created a logic model and evaluation plan with OCELOTS to measure the outputs, outcomes, and long-term impacts of the network over its five-year grant. Their work includes collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data to provide formative and summative feedback on the success of each activity. The evaluation also tracks the broader impact of the network in areas such as internationalizing undergraduate biology education, innovating within online learning platforms, and broadening participation in biology by engaging underrepresented groups.
In addition to her work with national research initiatives, Liesel supports local and state-level efforts through MRC’s partnership with Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA), an Ohio-based nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood hunger. CHA works with in-home childcare providers, childcare centers, afterschool and summer programs to provide nutritious meals to at-risk children. They also collaborate with schools to increase breakfast participation and distribute weekend meals to students in need. As part of MRC’s facilitation of CHA’s strategic planning process, Liesel contributed secondary data research, analysis, and reporting to help paint a comprehensive picture of the organization’s current state. This analysis, informed by interviews, surveys, and focus groups with partner agencies, families, and youth, supported a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) assessment that will serve as the foundation for data-driven planning.
Ideastream Public Media is a Northeast Ohio-based public service organization that provides news, information, arts, and entertainment through various platforms. It’s the largest independent, publicly supported media organization in the region, operating several stations, including WVIZ, WKSU, and WCLV. They also offer content through their website, app, and partnerships with NPR and PBS. MRC is currently supporting Ideastream in evaluating their NewsDepth Expansion Project. NewsDepth is an interactive digital series that breaks down the biggest news stories into teachable lessons for 4th to 6th-grade students. Liesel partnered with Ideastream and NewsDepth leadership to co-create an evaluation plan for assessing the success of a new partnership aimed at expanding local content creation for NewsDepth from 3 public media stations. MRC has used best practices for evaluation to design surveys that will measure the impact of the pilot project on various stakeholders, including children/students, families, teachers, and the partner stations producing the new content.
Before joining MRC, Liesel built a strong foundation in research and evaluation through work as a toxicology and epidemiology expert reviewer for an international scientific consultancy. In that role, she supported regulatory agencies by reviewing and extracting plant toxicity data for a botanical compendium and analyzing scientific literature related to chemical safety regulations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Liesel expanded her impact by volunteering with The Ohio State University’s COVID Connect program. There, she provided technical support and guidance to community organizations, helping them navigate operational challenges during an uncertain time. One of the organizations she supported was Moms2Be, a prevention program focused on improving health outcomes for pregnant women at high risk for infant mortality. Through these experiences, Liesel strengthened her passion for using research to drive real-world improvements in public health and community well-being.
A typical day for Liesel begins with a cup of coffee and a glass of water as she settles in at her desk. She starts by checking in on any ongoing data collection or community engagement efforts the team is supporting, ensuring that all deliverables are on track. After addressing any client needs or questions via email, Liesel focuses on her primary tasks for the day, which typically include creating data collection tools, analyzing data, or writing reports.
Outside of work, Liesel enjoys watching her teens perform and excel in the activities they love, whether it’s orchestra, jazz band, choir, theatre, or poetry slam. When she finds time for herself, she enjoys researching both her own and others’ family histories, as well as going for walks or hikes while listening to a podcast.
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