Dr. Jessica Smokoski

Biography

Jessica Sperling Smokoski, Ph.D., serves as Lead in the Applied Research, Evaluation, & Engagement area at Duke University's Social Science Research Institute. Her work is dedicated to informing and improving initiatives through responsive and collaborative research and evaluation practices. At Duke, her research has focused on education, healthcare delivery, diversity and inequality, and innovation in pilot programming. This research includes partnerships with various entities based at Duke University, Duke Health, and community and non-profit organizations. In addition to her role as a practitioner in applied research and evaluation, she is actively involved in teaching and capacity-building. Jessica has taught courses on research evaluation methods and has developed and led numerous evaluation training sessions for stakeholders in the non-profit, education, and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining the Social Science Research Institute, she worked in research and evaluation for higher education non-profits in New York City. Jessica holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Research Interests