About

Stephanie leads a variety of department activities designed to support a culture of evidence for both academic and administrative units at Boston College. She plays a central role in designing, conducting, and analyzing cyclical and special studies across Boston College constituencies, working closely with campus partners to support university priorities. She also leads the data collection for and production of the University Fact Book.

Stephanie joined the IR&P team in 2014, bringing with her a wide range of experience and knowledge in areas of quantitative and qualitative research, survey development and management, and statistical methods in educational research. Stephanie graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois with a degree in secondary education in English and a minor in studio art. She holds her Ph.D. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation from Boston College. Her dissertation focused on campus housing and its impacts on college experiences and outcomes.

Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and their dog, Barlow. She also enjoys spending time exploring New England, doing photography, and staying active in sports – including recreational softball and fencing.

Marise works directly with the Space Planning team to develop space programs. She determines the scope of Space and Facilities Project Requests as related to alterations and renovations, and oversees the Annual Space Planning Update for the University.

Prior to her work at Boston College, Marise worked at John Hancock for 17 years where she was a project manager and designer. She specialized in large complex relocations and high-profile executive office redesign projects.

Marise has a B.A. in Interior Design from University of Tennessee where she played intramural soccer and was on the crew team. While in school, she also interned at furniture dealerships.

Marise enjoys spending time with her husband, son, two daughters and Havanese dog named Finley. She can often be found cheering at the sidelines of basketball and lacrosse games and is very active in supporting fundraising efforts in her church and her children’s’ schools.

As VP of Institutional Research and Planning, Mara leads a collaborative, integrated, multi-domain team that provides information, analytical, and consulting services to enhance decision-making and planning at Boston College. Included in the office of Institutional Research and Planning are: Institutional Research, Space Planning and Strategic Services.

Born in Manila, she left to study art history — not from slides — and received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and MA from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She pursued her interest in cultural intersections, art, and design at New York arts organizations including the auction house Christie’s and the Frick Art Reference Library, before discovering the opportunities and challenges of art school administration, first at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, and then at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). At RISD she initially served as Special Assistant to the President and since 2015 as founding Vice President of Integrated Planning. In her 10 years at RISD, Mara oversaw two strategic planning processes and a joint comprehensive re-accreditation.

She is the co-editor of The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School of Design on Creative Practice (Wiley, 2013) and co-author of At Home with Filipino Art and Artists (Anvil, 2001). She also served as editor of Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary (GK Hall, 1996) and Lamesa: The Filipino Table (Anvil, 1999). Her professional activities include membership on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and service on accreditation visiting teams for New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and NASAD. She has spoken nationally on planning, assessment, and critical issues in art and design education.

An avid swimmer, she also enjoys travelling with her family, contemporary fashion and design, and international cuisine.

As a member of the Strategic Services team, Denice works with individual departments, divisions and schools at Boston College on strategic planning initiatives. Projects range from analyzing the viability of new initiatives and programs to creating action plans for implementing new strategies. Denice previously managed the Administrative Program Review (APR) by working with department teams to complete their self-study reports, engage in external reviewer site visits, and create their action plans.

Denice has a strong background in management consulting, serving as a senior consultant at Arthur D. Little, Inc. for more than 10 years. She has worked primarily in the areas of corporate visioning, strategic analysis and planning for the communications, publishing, transportation, and medical devices industries. Prior to joining IR&P in 2010, she worked as an independent consultant.

Denice earned her B.A. in Economics and French from Gettysburg College and her MBA from The George Washington University. Denice enjoys reading so much she belongs to two book groups. She also tries to keep moving with yoga and walking her wheaten puppy in her quest for 10,000 steps a day.

Zigrida works with the University’s space data, using CAD and Archibus to update the space inventory. She implements and/or coordinates administrative database changes resulting from alteration and renovation activities as well as the annual space update, and coordinates the data exchange with the Data Warehouse. Zigrida also assists in responding to ad hoc requests for space data and in creating presentations related to space planning.

Zigrida joined the Boston College space planning team in 2000; prior to that Zigrida worked for a number of years with a small software development company focused on military security systems. Earlier experiences included a Senior Administrative Assistant position with Lotus Development Corp.

Zigrida received her B.A. in Psychology from Emmanuel College.

Zigrida is a fluent speaker of Latvian and edits her church’s quarterly Latvian-language newsletter.

Christiana oversees the Space Planning team that provides space management and planning for the University’s building portfolio. She works closely with her team and the IR&P team to provide programming and planning services that align BC’s space with their strategic and master plans. A key role for her team is the coordination with Facilities Management Information Systems (FMIS) to maintain and continually advance BC’s space database that is responsible for various University-wide annual reports.

Before joining BC, Christiana worked in the design consulting industry for over 20 years. She gained programming and design experience, construction knowledge, and management experience while working with institutions and corporate clients at Sasaki and Spagnolo Gisness & Associates. Her focus was design and project management for the Institutional market.

Christiana received her B.S. in Interior Design with a business minor at Ohio University and is an accredited NCIDQ Interior Designer. Focusing on her family and sneaking time to enjoy the outdoors and eat good food keeps Christiana on the go.

Carol manages compliance reporting in IR&P and coordinates with campus partners to ensure consistency and accuracy in external reporting. Carol assists with Data Warehouse testing, contributing to data quality across the institution.

Carol joined Institutional Research when it was first formed in 2004. Previous to her work in IR&P, Carol worked with Enrollment Management at Boston College for 20 years, gaining valuable insight on undergraduate recruitment, retention, financial strategies, and enrollment research.

Carol earned her Bachelor’s degree in economics from Providence College. While working with Enrollment Management, Carol received her M.B.A. from Boston College.

Carol likes to jog with her friends, travel with her family, read books, and spend time in Maine.

Mike assists departments, schools and divisions with their assessment and planning activities, offering consultation and facilitation services to meet their specific needs. Mike also works with larger units and cross-functional teams to help them design and implement a broad range of strategic planning, business and operational solutions.

Mike’s background includes strategic planning, organizational development, project management, change management, human resources, training, and employee relations. He brings a mix of academic and corporate experience with positions in the higher education, employment, healthcare and high-tech manufacturing industries.

Mike earned his bachelor's degree in General Management and MBA from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
Mike is an avid runner who prefers to do his running in the early morning when there is plenty of time to clear his mind and think.

Allison designs effective visualizations and publications to make IR&P research and projects more engaging and accessible to the BC community. They also consult and develop workshops using design thinking to solve strategic problems at BC. Allison earned their B.A. in Studio Art and Political Science at Dickinson College and M.A. in Higher Education Administration at Boston College. They have worked in a variety of industries throughout their career including art education, international exchange, and higher education and institutional research. In their free time, Allison enjoys playing the drums in their band, doing improv comedy, and exploring the city by bike. Allison is also a co-chair of LGBT@BC, the affinity group for LGBTQ+ staff/faculty on campus.

Dan provides business intelligence, technology, and design thinking consulting services for IR&P and the University.

Dan joined the new office of Institutional Research in 2006 as a web applications developer. His position quickly evolved to play a key role in the creation of a modern business intelligence infrastructure at BC. He contributed as a developer, business analyst, and quality assurance lead, experiences which he draws on in his current strategic position of Associate Director, Information Systems.

A graduate of BC's Honors Program, Dan majored in computer science with a minor in studio art. He recently completed his MBA from the Carroll School of Management, and enjoys learning about Bitcoin, iOS development, and the best ways to brew homemade beer with Mountain Dew.

Meg conducts research projects and data analyses related to institutional policies, planning, and effectiveness across a broad spectrum of academic and administrative program areas.

Meg came to Boston College in 1999, and worked in University Advancement as a Senior Associate Director for the Boston College Fund before joining the IR&P team in 2004. She brings extensive experience in study design, data analysis, and report presentation from her earlier positions in marketing, investor relations, and management consulting.

Meg earned her Bachelor's degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and a joint J.D. and Master's in Public Administration from Saint Louis University. She holds a Ph.D in Higher Education from Boston College, where her research focused on Hispanic-Americans in Catholic higher education.

Originally from the South Shore, Meg currently lives in Dedham, MA and enjoys planning big and small adventures with her daughter, Nora.

Elaine supports the Vice President and directors in Institutional Research & Planning (IR&P). She manages calendars, schedules meetings, and prepares budget reports. She also coordinates office logistics to ensure efficient operation of the department.

Prior to working with IR&P, Elaine managed the Faculty Dining Room (FDR) at Boston College for six years. In this role, she served as a direct contact point for information while maintaining the overall function of the FDR.

Elaine earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst with a degree in Hospitality Management.

Elaine enjoys spending time cooking, traveling, and being active through various fitness activities.