Katherine Hayes

Katherine Hayes is director of the Strategic Data and Evaluation Branch at Los Angeles Unified School District, where she leads the Research Unit and chairs the Committee for External Research Review. She oversees research and evaluation staff conducting mixed-method studies on educational programs serving low-income students and students of color, including landscape, equity, and root cause analyses. An educational anthropologist with expertise in bilingual education, immigrant student experiences, and urban education, Hayes has conducted or directed several AERA-award-winning evaluations of English learner programs. She previously served as a lecturer at UCLA, California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California, teaching courses in qualitative research methods and educational policy. Hayes earned her PhD in qualitative research methods, anthropology, and education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

updated 2025