Hailey Heinz is a senior research scientist on the team. Her work emphasizes New Mexico families and children, and the effectiveness of programs designed to support them. She has particular expertise in early childhood education and care. Recently, she has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on projects focused on family access to child care assistance and nutrition programs, as well as research and evaluation for the First Born home visiting model. Hailey uses a range of methods and approaches to support policymaking grounded in data and research. She holds a master's degree in political science from the University of New Mexico, and is writing a doctoral dissertation in political science with a concentration in public policy. Hailey previously covered K-12 education for the Albuquerque Journal, and is happiest when she is communicating about research and policy in ways that are useful to families, policymakers, and community organizations.