Esther F. S. Carvalhaes was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. For a brief period of time she lived in Geneva, Switzerland (1994-1995) then returned to Brazil to complete her undergraduate studies in Education at the University of São Paulo (1997). She was introduced to the idea of empirical research in education during her college years and has since been committed to developing a career as a researcher. She currently lives in New York where she is completing her doctoral studies.

Ms. Carvalhaes is a Ph.D. student in the Educational Psychology Department at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She specializes in Education Policy Analysis. She is interested in the application of statistical methods to the study of policy-related issues as well as program evaluation.

Research interests include research design, basic and advanced statistical methods (Propensity Scores, Hierarchical Linear Models, Structural Equation Modeling, Meta-Analysis, and Psychometrics), large-scale educational assessment, educational resources allocation, and educational access and quality in developing countries.

She is a Certified Research Reviewer for the “What Works Clearinghouse”, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.