Staff

Amy Aparicio Clark directs the PALMS project. Born in Lima, Peru, Ms. Clark entered the U.S. public schools as a 5th grader. Having made a cultural and linguistic transition at this age gives her a special understanding of the challenges facing students and their families as they acculturate to a new language and environment. In the mid-90's, she served as a middle school teacher in Framingham, Massachusetts, piloting a Spanish-language curriculum for sixth graders and launching an afterschool enrichment program for Latina students. These experiences shaped her subsequent work at Education Development Center, where she launched PALMS in 2004. During her time at EDC, she has provided leadership on a multitude of projects with a middle-grades focus, using and honing her skills in research, development, evaluation, and management. Her publications have appeared in journals such as Principal Leadership and The Evaluation Exchange. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and a master's in education from Lesley University.

Amanda Dorris has been involved with PALMS since its launch in 2004, coordinating and conducting research for the parent outreach, student best practices, and implementation studies; contributing to tool development; and providing technical assistance to schools across the country. Her passion for this work began when she ran a summer program for Somali immigrant and refugee students and saw first hand the unique challenges faced by immigrant students and their parents.  During her time as a Project Associate at EDC her work has focused on middle school reform, parent involvement, and college access. Ms. Dorris has presented at many national conferences and is co-author of several articles in popular membership journals.  She received a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and a master's in education policy and management from Harvard University.

Audrey Martinez-Gudapakkam is a project associate at Education Development Center. At the age of 13, Ms. Martinez-Gudapakkam moved from the U.S. to Mexico where she completed her middle and high school education. This experience motivated her to return to the US for college, so that she could later contribute to improving the educational system for underserved populations. At EDC, she currently works on health-related projects that focus on serving Latino youth. She previously served as a researcher, evaluating science education at schools, universities, and other organizations in Massachusetts. Before coming to EDC, Ms. Martinez-Gudapakkam worked on research and evaluation projects at INCRE and Abt Associates. She has also been a field researcher for Save the Children in Guanajuato, Mexico, and middle school Spanish teacher in Somerville, Massachusetts. She earned a master's in international education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Boston College.