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Nicole Strayer

Nicole Tirado-Strayer

Senior Research Associate, Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities

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Overview

Nicole Tirado-Strayer is a senior research associate and an applied developmental psychologist with over 15 years of experience in participatory program and policy evaluation. Tirado-Strayer conducts evaluations of systems change initiatives in the education and mental/behavioral health fields. Using methods grounded in participatory systems change evaluation, Tirado-Strayer is committed to partnering with clients and community partners to ensure that all phases of an evaluation include diverse perspectives, particularly those of groups traditionally excluded or minimized in research. 

Tirado-Strayer directs a participatory evaluation of the California Mental Health Student Services Act and the California Department of Education Expanded Learning Division evaluation. This mixed-methods evaluation employs quasi-experimental methods and qualitative methods. In addition, Tirado-Strayer directs a participatory evaluation of the Richmond Fund for Children and Youth and the San Francisco Department for Children, Youth, and their Families, both of which provide funding to youth-serving community-based organizations that support the health and wellbeing of young people.  

Tirado-Strayer’s recent work focused on providing actionable data for state and local agencies on the impact of COVID-related innovations in programming for children and youth. Tirado-Strayer co-directed a technical assistance project funded by the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families and was the lead evaluator on the California Department of Social Services funded Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Network. Before joining WestEd, Tirado-Strayer consulted to multiple California school districts and community-based educational organizations to provide technical assistance and conduct evaluations of programs designed to improve school and program culture and climate. 

Education

  • PhD in applied developmental psychology, Stanford University 
  • Certificate in quantitative methods in education, Stanford University 
  • BA in anthropology, Wesleyan University 

Select Publications

Obradović, J., Sulik, M. J., Finch, J. E., & Tirado-Strayer, N. (in press). Assessing students’ executive functions in the classroom: Validating a scalable group-based procedure. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Tirado-Strayer, N., & Romer, N. (2023, December). Participatory approaches to evaluating the California Mental Health Student Services Act. 2023 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, New Orleans, LA, United States. 

Tirado-Strayer, N., & Lewis, R. (2022, April). Findings from the CDE EXLD’s 2021 report to the Legislature on expanded learning programs and program participants. BOOST Conference, Palm Springs, CA, United States. 

Obradović, J., Finch, J. E., Portilla, X. A., Rasheed, M. A., Tirado‐Strayer, N., & Yousafzai, A. K. (2018). Early executive functioning in a global context: Developmental continuity and family protective factors. Developmental Science, Article e12795. 

Obradović, J., Portilla, X. A., Tirado-Strayer, N., Siyal, S., Rasheed, M. A., & Yousafzai, A. K. (2017). Maternal scaffolding in a disadvantaged global context: The influence of working memory and cognitive capacities. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(2), 139. 

Tirado-Strayer, N. (2016). The structure of executive function and relations with academic achievement in middle childhood [Doctoral dissertation, Stanford University]. Stanford Libraries. https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/11849308  

Yousafzai, A. K., Obradović, J., Rasheed, M. A., Rizvi, A., Portilla, X. A., Tirado-Strayer, N., & Memon, U. (2016). Effects of responsive stimulation and nutrition interventions on children’s development and growth at age 4 years in a disadvantaged population in Pakistan: A longitudinal follow-up of a cluster-randomized factorial effectiveness trial. The Lancet Global Health, 4(8), Article e548–e558. 

Obradović, J., Tirado-Strayer, N., & Leu, J. (2013). The importance of family and friend relationships for the mental health of Asian immigrant young adults and their nonimmigrant peers. Research in Human Development, 10(2), 163–183. 

Sharkey, P. T., Tirado-Strayer, N., Papachristos, A. V., & Raver, C. C. (2012). The effect of local violence on children’s attention and impulse control. American Journal of Public Health, 102(12), 2287–2293. 

Charles McCoy, D. L., Raver, C. C., Lowenstein, A. E., & Tirado-Strayer, N. (2011). Assessing self-regulation in the classroom: Validation of the BIS-11 and the BRIEF in low-income, ethnic minority school-age children. Early Education & Development, 22(6), 883–906. 

Honors, Awards, and Affiliations

Education Leaders of Color, Member 

Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness, Member 

Society for Research on Child Development, Member 

American Education Research Association, Member