Jennifer Randall, President

Dr. Jennifer Randall is the President of the Center for Measurement Justice and the ​​Dunn Family Professor of Psychometrics and Test Development at the University of Michigan. Dr. Randall, previously a public-school teacher, is a field expert on community-informed measurement practices, developed through an iterative design process that includes the perspectives/inputs of Black, Brown and Indigenous children, families and teachers. Her research focuses on developing culturally sustaining and antiracist assessments in reading, math, and social studies and building diverse researcher pipelines in the fields of measurement and education.

Dr. Randall has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Educational Measurement (2016 – 2018), chair of the Diversity Issues in Testing Committee for the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME), chair of the Research on Evaluation Special Interest Group for the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and co-chair of the Northeastern Educational Research Association 2013 and NCME 2015 Annual Conferences. She currently serves as a founding board member for Women in Measurement, Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance gender and racial equity in the field of educational measurement. Dr. Randall has also served as a technical advisor for the National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics (2019-present) and reading (2018-2019), as well as county/state assessments including Massachusetts, Nevada and Colorado.

Jenin Sabbah, Executive Director

Jenin Sabbah is Executive Director at the Center for Measurement Justice. She joins President Jennifer Randall in leading CMJ toward the future of anti-racist and culturally sustaining assessments for K-12 students.

Jenin served as COO of international humanitarian nonprofit group Mercy Without Limits, where she collaborated with the CEO to drive strategy, staffing, marketing, and development. Prior to that, she led youth programming for the Islamic Cultural Association in Michigan.

Jenin is passionate about working toward powerful changes that impact future generations, particularly by advocating for her community and leading social justice efforts in service of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. She holds a BS from Wayne State University, and a Juris Doctorate degree from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Maria Hamdani, Vice President of Assessment & Research

Maria Hamdani is the Vice President of Assessment and Research for the Center for Measurement Justice.  Maria brings 18 years of assessment experience, including strategic development of different assessment types, including formative, summative and technology-enhanced assessments.  In addition to being a member of the Asian, Muslim community, Maria’s passion for culturally responsive, anti-racist assessments also stems from her ten years as a high school math teacher in diverse locations, including Texas, Maryland and India, augmenting her ability to understand and adapt teaching and assessment styles to unique local cultures and specific student needs.  Maria recognized early on that the playing field is seldom “level” for students of marginalized communities and has dedicated her career to leveling that playing field.

Maria has an BA degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Arlington, and an MS in Learning Analytics from Columbia University, Teachers College.

Tyra Young, Operations Associate

Tyra Young is the Operations Associate for the Center for Measurement Justice. She brings 7 years of project management experience, including specializing in workforce operations, strategic planning, budget allocation & analysis, cost controls/savings, and delivering multimillion-dollar projects for various organizations.

Tyra’s passion for culturally responsive, anti-racist assessments also stems from her five years of work in higher education student affairs, where she served as a mentor to underrepresented and/or low-income student populations. She enjoyed being an Upward Bound Instructor in the University of South Carolina’s TRiO/Support Services department, championing the needs of first-generation college students. She also served as an Afterschool Care Instructor working with K-12 students through the Greater Enrichment Program in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tyra has a BA in History with a double-minor in American Studies and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and an MEd in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of South Carolina.

Amanda Gorham, Research Scientist

Dr. Amanda Gorham is a Research Scientist at the Center for Measurement Justice. Dr. Gorham shares with CMJ her experience gained serving as an educator, a district administrator, and a state education agency director, working specifically in assessment, evaluation, and research. Dr. Gorham has worked with multiple state assessment programs, including the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Executive Committee Member), the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (Working Group Member), and the Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (Director).

Inspired by her challenging journey to diagnosis with postpartum depression, Dr. Gorham focused her research more specifically on developing methods for psychological screening that better serve marginalized birthing people. Through these experiences, Dr. Gorham recognized, firsthand, the need for and benefit of prioritizing lived experience, stakeholder engagement, and the centering of marginalized communities in assessment development and research processes. She dedicates her career to disrupting racism and other forms of oppression in educational and clinical assessment.

Dr. Gorham holds a BA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Anna Maria College, and a PhD in Research, Educational Measurement, and Psychometrics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Jessica Covil-Manset, Communications Manager

Jessica Covil-Manset is the Communications Manager for the Center for Measurement Justice. She works to communicate CMJ’s equity-driven mission to those within and outside of the education system, crafting messages that are critically engaged and widely accessible. She brings her passion for social justice, expertise in storytelling, and a commitment to staying attuned to ongoing conversations around race and advocacy.

Jess has BA degrees in English and Spanish from the University of Chicago and a PhD in English from Duke University. She also holds Duke Graduate Certificates in Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies, African & African American Studies, and College Teaching. Prior to Duke, she taught in the El Paso Independent School District. Jess belongs to the QuestBridge Scholars Network and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, understanding the value of mentorship and community in educational pursuits.

Robert Green, Youth Advisory Board Coordinator

Robert Green is the Youth Advisory Board Coordinator at the Center for Measurement Justice. He believes that schools should be safe spaces where students can be empowered, supported, and enabled to achieve their wildest dreams. Robert is deeply passionate about empowering youth to stand up and voice their concerns, and build comprehensive solutions to solve issues within their respective communities.

Robert served as Research Fellow at The Mellon Mays Foundation, where he conducted historical and sociological research on 19th-century Black citizenship, educational and religious trends, and political movements. Prior to that, he worked as a Statewide Strategy Fellow for Californians for Justice, drafting and sponsoring radical educational policies across California.

Robert recently graduated with honors from Pitzer College with a BA in History. He is excited about building and fostering relationships with Black, Brown and Indigenous children, families and teachers across California, and playing a larger role in developing culturally sustaining and antiracist assessments.