John Besl, M.A., 2009 CRC Fellow
John is Project Analyst at the Child Policy Research Center at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. John serves as an analyst and demographer for the Child Policy Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He provides data processing, analysis, and desktop mapping support for studies on topics ranging from infant mortality reduction to the persistence of childhood health disparities.

Prior to joining Cincinnati Children’s in 2003, John held the position of Research Demographer at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. He served as Indiana’s liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau, representing the state in two federal-state cooperative programs for the production of population estimates and projections. John earned his M.A. degree in Sociology in 1991 from Bowling Green State University, specializing in applied demography.

John was recently selected to complete a weeklong workshop, sponsored by the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, on using the American Community Survey (ACS) to analyze poverty and socioeconomic trends. The ACS will be the new workhorse of the federal statistical system, collecting and disseminating valuable social, economic, and housing data formerly collected in the decennial census.

Debbie Zorn, Ph.D., 2009 CRC Fellow
Debbie is Director of the Evaluation Services Center at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Zorn holds UC degrees in Educational Foundations with a focus on qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation, and Curriculum and Instruction. She has extensive experience over 15 years in the evaluation of programs in PK-16 education and human services. Dr. Zorn has managed over 400 evaluation projects and has been a primary author of more than 100 evaluation reports. She has published work on assessment and program accountability, factors that impact interagency collaboration, and success factors for disadvantaged students. Dr. Zorn has also taught Qualitative Research, Assessment and Evaluation, and Action Research as an adjunct instructor in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services.