Todd Jackson is a Research Analyst at Start Early, where he oversees several data projects, including an evaluation of a professional learning series designed to improve early educators’ instruction of young children, assessing the success of a national conference that is hosted annually by Start Early and coordinating Educare Chicago’s participation in the Educare National Evaluation. In his role, Jackson works closely with project managers to understand and maintain focus on their informational needs, including critical metrics and KPIs, and delivering actionable insights to relevant decision-makers.

Before joining the Research and Evaluation division at Start Early in 2004, Jackson worked for eight years as a consultant for the Illinois State Board of Education. With extensive background in the field of adolescent behavioral health, Jackson worked closely with the leadership teams at Illinois State Board of Education, Department of Child and Family Services, and Illinois Department of Housing Services to develop and implement an interagency evaluation of a school-based and community-based wraparound services delivery model intended to provide a comprehensive, holistic, youth and family-driven way of responding when children or youth experience serious mental health or behavioral challenges.

Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Indiana State University and a Master of Arts in research methodology from Loyola University Chicago. Jackson is currently living in the Hyde Park community of Chicago, enjoys biking on the lakefront and believes that Chicago has the best pizza-second to none.