91µÎµÎ

Gareth is responsible for conducting institutional, departmental, and individual research projects related to operational excellence. He works closely with the IR&P team to support the survey and statistical analysis needs of administrative and academic units and programs. Additionally, he interacts with and develops professional relationships with divisional/school constituencies, staff, and department/project teams.

Before joining the IR&P team, Gareth supported multiple grant-funded research studies as a Research Associate in Boston College's Lynch School of Education and Human Development. He has also previously served as the Data Coordinator for Vermont's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant. He holds a B.A. in MathematicalÌýSciences and Economics from Colby College, an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Vermont, and a Ed.M. in Education Policy and Analysis from Harvard University.

Gareth is originally from Maine and enjoys visitingÌýthere as well as embarking on otherÌýNew England adventures. A lifelong baseball fan, he frequently attends Red Sox games at Fenway Park and manages his church softball team, Anglicans in the Outfield.

Grant provides high-level administrative support to the Vice President and directors in Institutional Research & Planning (IR&P). He manages complex calendars, prepares budget reports, assists with research, designs presentations, and coordinates meetings, events, and retreats. He also organizes office logistics to ensure the efficient operation of the department.

Before joining the team, Grant graduated from Boston College with a B.A. in Economics. A California kid at heart, he hopes to continue exploring the Northeast with his friends, all while improving his chef skills and getting others to dunk on the office mini hoop.

Marise works directly with the Space Planning team to develop space programs. She determines the scope of Space and Facilities Project Requests as related to alterations and renovations, and oversees the Annual Space Planning Update for the University.

Prior to her work at Boston College, Marise worked at John Hancock for 17 years where she was a project manager and designer. She specialized in large complex relocations and high-profile executive office redesign projects.

Marise has a B.A. in Interior Design from University of Tennessee where she played intramural soccer and was on the crew team. While in school, she also interned at furniture dealerships.

Marise enjoys spending time with her husband, son, two daughters and Havanese dog named Finley. She can often be found cheering at the sidelines of basketball and lacrosse games and is very active in supporting fundraising efforts in her church and her children’s’ schools.

As VP of Institutional Research and Planning, Mara leads a collaborative, integrated, multi-domain team that provides information, analytical, and consulting services to enhance decision-making and planning at Boston College. Included in the office of Institutional Research and Planning are: Institutional Research, Space Planning and Strategic Services.

Born in Manila, she left to study art history — not from slides — and received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and MA from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She pursued her interest in cultural intersections, art, and design at New York arts organizations including the auction house Christie’s and the Frick Art Reference Library, before discovering the opportunities and challenges of art school administration, first at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, and then at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). At RISD she initially served as Special Assistant to the President and since 2015 as founding Vice President of Integrated Planning. In her 10 years at RISD, Mara oversaw two strategic planning processes and a joint comprehensive re-accreditation.

She is the co-editor of The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School of Design on Creative Practice (Wiley, 2013) and co-author of At Home with Filipino Art and Artists (Anvil, 2001). She also served as editor of Spanish Artists from the Fourth to the Twentieth Century: A Critical Dictionary (GK Hall, 1996) and Lamesa: The Filipino Table (Anvil, 1999). Her professional activities include membership on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and service on accreditation visiting teams for New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) and NASAD. She has spoken nationally on planning, assessment, and critical issues in art and design education.

An avid swimmer, she also enjoys travelling with her family, contemporary fashion and design, and international cuisine.

Shad manages compliance reporting and data collection for external collaborations (e.g. IPEDS, Common Data Set). He also assists with survey research, student data analysis, and data warehousing. A trained mixed methods researcher, Shad uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the full scope of student success in his work.Ìý

Prior to joining as Assistant Director in 2024 he was a graduate assistant for IR&P and Ph.D. student at Boston College, having moved to Boston from New York where he worked in Student Affairs at Columbia University's School of Engineering. He holds a B.S. in Brain & Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Higher & Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education at Boston College.

Outside of work, Shad enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to concerts, playing RPGs, and getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch the English Premier League.

Zigrida works with the University’s space data, using CAD and Archibus to update the space inventory. She implements and/or coordinates administrative database changes resulting from alteration and renovation activities as well as the annual space update, and coordinates the data exchange with the Data Warehouse. Zigrida also assists in responding to ad hoc requests for space data and in creating presentations related to space planning.

Zigrida joined the Boston College space planning team in 2000; prior to that Zigrida worked for a number of years with a small software development company focused on military security systems. Earlier experiences included a Senior Administrative Assistant position with Lotus Development Corp.

Zigrida received her B.A. in Psychology from Emmanuel College.

Zigrida is a fluent speaker of Latvian and edits her church’s quarterly Latvian-language newsletter.

Sylvia supports university-wide planning initiatives and assists departments, divisions and schools in designing and implementing strategic, business and operational projects and solutions. She applies an integrating perspective to align and coordinate institutional planning activities through process optimization and project management. Leveraging group wisdom within and outside of IR&P through collaborative endeavors, she strives to ensure that maximum efficiency is found in organizational efforts and that resources are strategically deployed to advance Boston College priorities.

Sylvia joins from Ontario, Canada, and brings with her an extensive background in higher education evidence-based policy research, data analytics, institutional research and planning, and quality assurance. Taking on progressively responsible roles, she has worked closely with senior leadership, faculties and administrative units to operationalize institutional goals.

Sylvia graduated from McMaster University, Ontario with a Master's degree in Economics. She currently lives in Massachusetts and enjoys curling up with a book, hiking and spending time with family.

Christiana oversees the Space Planning team that provides space management and planning for the University’s building portfolio. She works closely with her team and the IR&P team to provide programming and planning services that align 91µÎµÎ’s space with their strategic and master plans. A key role for her team is the coordination with Facilities Management Information Systems (FMIS) to maintain and continually advance 91µÎµÎ’s space database that is responsible for various University-wide annual reports.

Before joining 91µÎµÎ, Christiana worked in the design consulting industry for over 20 years. She gained programming and design experience, construction knowledge, and management experience while working with institutions and corporate clients at Sasaki and Spagnolo Gisness & Associates. Her focus was design and project management for the Institutional market.

Christiana received her B.S. in Interior Design with a business minor at Ohio University and is an accredited NCIDQ Interior Designer. Focusing on her family and sneaking time to enjoy the outdoors and eat good food keeps Christiana on the go.

Gaby provides information design with charts, figures, dashboards, and other forms of data visualization and graphic design deliverables. She collaborates with the IR&P team as well as the greater University to provide engaging and appealing data visualizations in order to communicate institutional data to students, faculty and staff, and other partners. In addition, she works closely with the ITS department at 91µÎµÎ in its efforts to establish and implement an intuitive data warehouse and promote data literacy across the University.

Before joining Boston College, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston where she contributed to several projects in economic research. Gaby holds a Master’s in applied economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston as well as a B.A. in economics from the same institution.

When she’s not at her computer, Gaby enjoys traveling, reading, and playing with her cat, Daijin.Ìý

Dan provides data and design thinking consulting services for IR&P and the University. Since joining the new office of Institutional Research in 2006, he has played key roles in the creation of a modern business intelligence infrastructure at 91µÎµÎ, contributing as a developer, business analyst, and quality assurance lead. He currently focuses on University data governance and data literacy efforts, encouraging cross functional data sharing and collaboration.

When no data exists, Dan uses design thinking to collaborate with 91µÎµÎ faculty and staff to tackle University challenges. In his workshops, Dan hopes to give participants an intuitive understanding of the steps of design thinking so they can adapt the process to fit their own circumstances and constraints. He has an MBA from 91µÎµÎ and a certificate in Design Thinking from Cornell University.

When he's not working, Dan enjoys drawing and brewing homeade beer made with Mountain Dew.

Meg conducts research projects and data analyses related to institutional policies, planning, and effectiveness across a broad spectrum of academic and administrative program areas. Meg came to Boston College in 1999, and worked in University Advancement as a Senior Associate Director for the Boston College Fund before joining the IR&P team in 2004.

She brings extensive experience in study design, data analysis, and report presentation from her earlier positions in marketing, investor relations, and management consulting. Meg earned her Bachelor's degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and a joint J.D. and Master's in Public Administration from Saint Louis University. She holds a Ph.D in Higher Education from Boston College, where her research focused on Hispanic-Americans in Catholic higher education.

Originally from the South Shore, Meg currently lives in Dedham, MA and enjoys planning big and small adventures with her daughter, Nora.