Our team also includes research assistants and research fellows. For more information about any openings, please check Handshake at the beginning of each academic year.
Elissa Lu
Dir Strtgc Anlytcs & Inst Rsch
508-793-7513
Elissa Chin Lu is the director of strategic analytics and institutional research. She was previously involved in analytics at organizations including Wellesley College, Harvard University, and MassBay Community College, and Eduventures. She received a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a master of education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a doctorate from Boston College.
Shambhavi Pandey
Senior Analyst
Shambhavi is a recent MBA graduate from Clark’s Graduate School of Management. She earned her bachelor of engineering in Electrical, Electronics, and Communication from Chitkara University. Previously, Shambhavi worked in IT. In her free time, Shambhavi enjoys travel planning and is an avid reader.
Yacong Wu
Research Analyst
Skye recently graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education with a master’s degree in Education Policy Analysis, and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UW-Madison. Skye has previously worked in both ed tech companies and non-profit settings and actively engages in community service in her free time. Skye loves food, horror films, and stand-up comedy.
Current Student Staff
Shubham Kinger
Graduate Student Research Assistant (October 2023-Present)
MS in Data Analytics, May 2024. Subham is responsible for automating processes at STAIR. Recently, his responsibilities have involved creating Python scripts to automate the processing of extensive survey data, resulting in a significant reduction in time-to-solution from 65 minutes to a mere 90 seconds. Furthermore, he is actively engaged in building a machine learning model, employing Random Forest to forecast student retention rates for the forthcoming year. Shubham takes pride in working with cutting-edge technologies at STAIR, involving Python, SQL, Amazon Redshift, and Tableau. He is passionate about working with large datasets and uncovering valuable insights from them. His career goal is to work as a skilled Data Engineer in future positions. His time at STAIR has allowed him to not only work as a Data Engineer but also as a Data Analyst, which he believes will greatly contribute to his career growth moving forward. Fun Fact: he becomes angry when hungry, so he always tries to keep something in his pocket for a quick snack.
Jules Opulencia
Undergraduate Student Research Assistant (March 2023-Present)
History B.A. Mathematics Minor, class of 2025. Jules primarily works with Excel and SPSS to develop PowerPoints and other deliverables for university leadership. She also researches and compares Clark to other universities. She has created PowerPoints detailing how Clark compares to other universities in areas such as community engagement and neurodivergent student support. Her experience at STAIR has given her valuable experience synthesizing data and portraying information in an effective manner. Jules enjoys cooking for her friends and reading mystery books.
Swati Sanjay Patke
Graduate Student Research Assistant (February 2024-Present)
MS in Data Analytics, May 2024. At STAIR, Swati is working on an interesting research project aimed at exploring the intricate relationship between educational attainment and lifetime earnings. Leveraging the rich dataset provided by the American Community Survey (ACS), our research holds the potential to uncover disparities, highlight opportunities, and provide insights helpful to pave the way for a more equitable future. Her responsibilities span the entire project lifecycle starting from data collection via census Web API, data cleaning, and in-depth analysis using Python. She applies advanced analytics to derive actionable insights and use Tableau for impactful visualizations. Her professional interests lie in managing advanced data analytics projects to facilitate informed decision-making. At STAIR, she is working autonomously on end-to-end project, gaining valuable experience with cutting-edge technologies which she believes will be beneficial for her future career in data analytics. Swati is passionate about naturopathy and can heal various health conditions through natural remedies.
Linda Pham
Graduate Student Research Assistant (May 2023-Present)
Data Analytics, M.S. at Clark, Class of 2024. Linda’s main responsibilities are cleaning and analyzing survey data from Clark students and faculty using Tableau. She creates interactive dashboards for academic departments and university leadership to inform decision-making. One interesting project involved developing a Sankey chart to visualize the flow of students from different majors to various industries after graduation, providing valuable insights into career trajectories. Her professional goal is to become a skilled data analyst. Her experience at STAIR in developing interactive dashboards and creating complex visualizations has strengthened her skills in data analysis and visualization using tools like Tableau. Linda is lucid dreamer (Lucid dreamers are aware that they are dreaming and can manipulate their dreams)
Dillon Remuck
Undergraduate Student Research Assistant (March 2023-Present)
Computer Science, B.A. at Clark; Interactive Media, B.A. at Clark, Class of 2025. At STAIR, Dillon has been responsible for helping the office develop Python scripts and integrating Artificial Intelligence to speed up and enhance the accuracy of the STAIR office, particularly the ability to process and analyze surveys and institutional data. Some projects: Name Redaction using Python, Automated Plotting Script using Python, and Theme Analysis using OpenAI API. He is interested in becoming a Software Engineer, and being able to write code for the STAIR office helps develop his problem solving and programming skills. Dillon is president of the Golf Club at Clark.