BJS is pleased to announce Rachel Hansen as the new chief of its Reentry, Recidivism, and Special Projects Unit. Rachel has over 12 years of experience managing large-scale, federal data collections at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). For the past 2 years, she led the School Pulse Panel, an innovative monthly data collection producing real-time, quick-turnaround statistics on the K-12 education response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a prior role, Rachel served as the NCES project director on both the School Survey on Crime and Safety and the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Rachel began her career at ED working on congressionally mandated data collections for all public schools, districts, and states in the nation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Drury University, a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Missouri State University, and post-master's certificates in educational statistics and research methods at the University of Arkansas.
In her free time, Rachel tries to keep the peace between her son and daughter. She enjoys playing soccer on the weekends, CrossFit, and eating good food with her husband.