About Us
We are program implementation and evaluation experts and researchers from the RAND Corporation. RAND is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous.
About Us
We are program implementation and evaluation experts and researchers from RAND. RAND is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous.
Staff
Matthew Chinman, PhD
Senior Behavioral Scientist
Matthew Chinman is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, where his focus has been on developing strategies to enhance the prevention capacity of community-based prevention practitioners. As such, he codeveloped the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) model and led the development and testing of several GTO-based guides that are aimed at assisting local communities in planning, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs in the areas of sexual assault prevention in the military, substance abuse prevention, underage drinking prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, homelessness, and youth development. Chinman is also a health science specialist at the VISN 4 Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, where his overall focus is on developing and testing various interventions to improve the recovery of individuals with serious mental illnesses. As part of that initiative, he has been developing and assessing strategies that involve mental health consumers in service-providing roles in order to improve the quality of their care. Chinman received his PhD in clinical/community psychology from the University of South Carolina.
Joie Acosta, PhD
Senior Behavioral Scientist
Joie Acosta is a senior behavioral/social scientist at RAND. She specializes in community-based research focused on the implementation and evaluation of prevention and health promotion programs in the areas of public health, positive youth development, substance abuse, sexual assault prevention, and mental health. Her recent RAND publications include “Countering Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Lessons from RAND Research” (Acosta et al., 2021) and “Adapting to Adversity amid a Global Pandemic: Stakeholder Insights About Progress and Next Steps for Taking Integrative Action to Build Resilient Systems” (Acosta et al., 2021). Acosta received her PhD in community and cultural psychology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Amy Shearer, PhD
Full Behavioral Scientist
Amy Shearer is a social/behavioral scientist at RAND. Shearer is a community psychologist by training, with a background in implementation science and program evaluation. Her research uses a range of methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, and spans from analysis of individual experiences to system-wide strategic planning. Her recent work improves the capacity of communities to implement and evaluate violence prevention and resilience programs using RAND’s Getting To Outcomes approach.
Staff
Matthew Chinman, PhD,
Senior Behavioral Scientist
Matthew Chinman is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, where his focus has been on developing strategies to enhance the prevention capacity of community-based prevention practitioners. As such, he codeveloped the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) model and led the development and testing of several GTO-based guides that are aimed at assisting local communities in planning, implementing, and evaluating prevention programs in the areas of sexual assault prevention in the military, substance abuse prevention, underage drinking prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, homelessness, and youth development. Chinman is also a health science specialist at the VISN 4 Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center, where his overall focus is on developing and testing various interventions to improve the recovery of individuals with serious mental illnesses. As part of that initiative, he has been developing and assessing strategies that involve mental health consumers in service-providing roles in order to improve the quality of their care. Chinman received his PhD in clinical/community psychology from the University of South Carolina.
Joie Acosta, PhD
Senior Behavioral Scientist
Joie Acosta is a senior behavioral/social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She specializes in community-based research focused on the implementation and evaluation of prevention and health promotion programs in the areas of public health, positive youth development, substance abuse, sexual assault prevention, and mental health. Her recent RAND publications include “Countering Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Lessons from RAND Research” (Acosta et al., 2021) and “Adapting to Adversity amid a Global Pandemic: Stakeholder Insights About Progress and Next Steps for Taking Integrative Action to Build Resilient Systems” (Acosta et al., 2021). Acosta received her PhD in community and cultural psychology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Amy Shearer, PhD
Full Behavioral Scientist
Amy Shearer is a social/behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation. Shearer is a community psychologist by training, with a background in implementation science and program evaluation. Her research uses a range of methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, and spans from analysis of individual experiences to system-wide strategic planning. Her recent work improves the capacity of communities to implement and evaluate violence prevention and resilience programs using RAND’s Getting To Outcomes approach.
Our Sponsor
Housed at RAND, the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute is dedicated to conducting innovative, interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to improve the lives of those who have served in the US military. Through a range of partnerships, the institute prioritizes creative, equitable, and inclusive analysis and evaluation to meet the needs of diverse veteran populations while engaging and empowering those who support them.
Our Sponsor
Housed at the RAND Corporation, the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute is dedicated to conducting innovative, interdisciplinary, evidence-based research to improve the lives of those who have served in the U.S. military. Through a range of partnerships, the institute prioritizes creative, equitable, and inclusive analysis and evaluation to meet the needs of diverse veteran populations while engaging and empowering those who support them.