Gonzalez — a sociologist at the RAND Corporation — maintains specific interests in school-to-work transitions, inequality, workforce development and dynamics, educational attainment of youth, and human capital development.

Gonzalez has more than 12 years of experience in program evaluation, case study analysis, designing and analyzing surveys, and conducting and analyzing data from interviews and focus groups with key informants and industry leaders. She currently leads a project to evaluate recent K-12 education reforms in New Haven Public Schools; a study on the alignment of education and training with workforce needs in the energy sector in West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and an evaluation of Department of Defense programs to support the employment and education of military spouses.

Her previous work includes analysis of school leadership, an evaluation of The Pittsburgh Promise (a postsecondary scholarship system for high school graduates), and decisionmaking of minority and women Air Force Academy cadets.

Her 2005 book, Educational Attainment in Immigrant Families: Community Context and Family Background, examined the educational attainment of children of immigrants in the United States, comparing the relative effects of neighborhood context and family background.

Gonzalez’s international work includes a study on the demographic challenges facing Abu Dhabi and an analysis of skills mismatch problems and education and labor market reforms in Arab Gulf countries. She assisted with the design and implementation of the Qatar Student Assessment System from 2003 to 2005. She was based in Qatar from 2003 to 2007. Gonzalez earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University.

Dr. Gonzalez’s committee work will be focused on the research sessions at PromiseNet 2014.