Betina Jean-Louis, Ph.D., is the Director of Evaluation for the Harlem Children's Zone. Dr. Jean Louis has spearheaded HCZ's evaluation efforts since March 2002. In this capacity, she assesses the impact of a variety of programs that are key to the short- and long-term success of poor children and families living in the zone. Dr. Jean-Louis has built an internal evaluation department that is central to HCZ's noted "culture of evaluation." As a result of this culture, HCZ is lauded for setting and meeting outcomes, its focus on accountability, and for using data to continuously improve program functioning. Working in concert with external evaluators, she and her staff evaluate a wide range of programs included in HCZ's pipeline of services (early childhood education, youth development, foster care prevention, and charter schools, among others). Most recently, Dr. Jean-Louis has provided support in ensuring that HCZ's results and accountability orientation remains central to Promise Neighborhoods, President Barack Obama's national youth-directed community-development initiative modeled after HCZ.

Dr. Jean-Louis received a B.A. from Columbia College and an M.S., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University.