Stephanie Nelson-Dusek
Stephanie works on a range of research and evaluation projects, but is particularly focused on those related to homelessness, substance use and recovery, and child welfare. She is passionate about digging into the data to find clear, fact-based solutions to the challenges that organizations and broader communities face.
Stephanie is adept at a variety of research and evaluation tasks, particularly project coordination, training and technical assistance, instrument design, qualitative data collection, and distilling findings into well-written, meaningful products that meet client needs. She is the project manager for the Minnesota Homeless Study and co-project manager of a large grant evaluation for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which serves women in recovery. Some of her other current projects include managing two federal grant evaluations for treatment programs in Texas and evaluating the work of Wilder Foundation’s family supportive housing programs.
Before joining Wilder, Stephanie worked in a variety of research roles, including as a public opinion researcher in Washington D.C., an evaluator at the Science Museum of Minnesota, and an archaeologist and registrar for an excavation in Cyprus. Stephanie earned her M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago and her B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College, where she studied classics and anthropology.
Outside of work, you can find Stephanie having fun with her kiddos, wandering through museums, and planning her next travel adventure.
Additional Publications
- Nelson-Dusek, S., & Gerrard, M. D. (2017). The complexities of youth and family homelessness: Findings from the Minnesota Homeless Study. CW360°, 18-19.
- Nelson‐Dusek, S., Idzelis Rothe, M., Roberts, Y. H., & Pecora, P. J. (2017). Assessing the value of family safety networks in child protective services: Early findings from Minnesota. Child & Family Social Work, 22, 1365–1373.