This summer, ImpactED onboarded five new team members including four Fellows (Alicia Blochberger, Anna Balfanz, Emily Clark, & Megan Moser) and an Evaluation Manager (Abby Quirk). We're excited to introduce the newest additions to our team!
Abby Quirk
Where are you from and what led you to your job at ImpactED?
I grew up in Oakland, California but always felt like an East Coast girl at heart; I’ve been out here braving the humidity and snow since college. I actually worked at Penn as a Research Coordinator for Dr. Angela Duckworth right after college. While in that role, I got an M.S.Ed from Penn GSE in Education Policy. I’ve been in DC for the past five years working in education policy and practice, first with the Center for American Progress and then at DC Public Schools. I’ve been wanting to return both to Philadelphia and to a career in research/evaluation, and was excited to find this role at ImpactED which gave me the opportunity to do both!
What are you most excited about as it pertains to your role as Evaluation Manager at ImpactED? What do you hope to achieve?
After working in education for the past few years, I’m excited about the fact that a lot–but not all–of the partners we work with are connected to schools or students in some way. It’s exciting to learn about other sectors and types of organizations, while not completely moving away from work that has a positive impact on young people.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love to travel, especially via Amtrak. When I’m not on the train, I mostly spend my time seeing live music, exploring the Philly food scene, and playing with as many dogs as I can find. I also want to join a volleyball league soon, which was one of my favorite activities when I lived in Philadelphia the first time around.
What's your favorite quote or saying at the moment?
I’ve seen this quote attributed to a few different people, although I originally heard it from (and saw it truly embodied in) my first manager: “Argue like you’re right and listen like you’re wrong.”
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
I’d get all the Philly chefs together for dinner! Not just to sample their own food, but also to see what they might build off of each other. I recently went to an event at El Chingon that was a collaboration between the head chef there, Juan Carlos Aparicio Torres, and local Korean chef Clara Park. The dishes they came up with that each infused Mexican and Korean flavors were incredible, and totally unique. Imagine building off of that with some of our famous Italian, Mediterranean, and other renowned Philly cuisines!
Alicia Blochberger
Where are you from and what led you to your role at ImpactED?
I was born and raised in Roseville, CA, a suburb of Sacramento, but have lived in San Francisco, CA, Woodbridge, VA, Okinawa, Japan, Atlanta, GA, and Norfolk, VA for the last 15 years. I was fortunate to chat with two former ImpactED Fellows who instantly drew me in to applying to an organization I knew I had to be part of.
What are you most excited about as it pertains to your role as a Fellow at ImpactED? What do you hope to achieve?
I am committed to the growth mindset, so I am excited to broaden my perspective and experience while also providing my own insight to effectively and continuously improve ImpactED's projects and processes.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love relaxing with my husband and two cats, managing my fantasy football team, playing the saxophone, and exploring farmers markets.
What's your favorite quote or saying at the moment?
In the spirit of celebrating the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic games, I remember this quote by Jesse Owens, "The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself — the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us — that's where it's at."
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
I would love to have dinner with Condoleezza Rice, the 66th Secretary of State and 19th National Security Advisor, to chat about chamber music, democracy, and being a life-long learner.
Anna Balfanz
Where are you from and what led you to your role at ImpactED?
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. This begins my tenth year in Philadelphia. I was immediately interested in ImpactED when I learned about it in my first semester at Fels. The rest of the year confirmed that I wanted to focus my Master’s degree on developing data, research, and evaluation skills.
What are you most excited about as it pertains to your role as a Fellow at ImpactED? What do you hope to achieve?
I hope to achieve greater confidence and capabilities across the broad range of activities involved in data-driven evaluation, as well as refine my particular interests within this field. I’m excited to be a space dedicated to growth and real-world experiential learning. And the ability to select projects aligned with our interests was awesome!
How do you like to spend your free time?
Reading, rock climbing, conversations, staring at a screen and thinking, “I should really be reading/climbing/conversing right now.” Not written in order of frequency.
What's your favorite quote or saying at the moment?
“It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy...let's go exploring!" Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, by Bill Watterson
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
Someone like Jane Goodall — I would be fascinated by both her and her research.
Emily Clark
Where are you from and what led you to your role at ImpactED?
I’m originally from Goleta, CA but have lived in the Philly area since 2018. As a fundraiser, I spend a lot of my time thinking about why the work an organization does matters. I’m excited to learn how to ask better questions, and build on the quantitative skillset I’ve developed thus far in my time at Fels.
What are you most excited about as it pertains to your role as a Fellow at ImpactED? What do you hope to achieve?
Learning from the incredible staff at ImpactED! I hope to build a solid foundation of program and impact evaluation that I can bring with me to future roles.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I like going to yoga classes, baking sourdough bread, and exploring my new neighborhood of Haddon Township, NJ.
What's your favorite quote or saying at the moment?
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower. This resonates with me because I'm a big believer that the process of planning sets you up to be able to tackle whatever life throws at you.
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
Probably my grandparents. There are so many questions I wish I could ask them about their lives now as an adult.
Megan Moser
Where are you from and what led you to your role at ImpactED?
I grew up in the Philly suburbs and now live in Manayunk. I became a fellow to further develop my skills in program evaluation and gain experience working with local nonprofits.
What are you most excited about as it pertains to your role as a Fellow at ImpactED? What do you hope to achieve?
I’m most excited about the opportunity to learn new skills, and I hope to apply the learnings to improve the way I measure impact and outcomes in my work in the federal government.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I enjoy swimming, outdoor activities, and spending time with family, friends, and my two rescue cats.
What's your favorite quote or saying at the moment?
“To get lost is to learn the way” African proverb
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or not), who would it be and why?
I watched a lot of the Olympics this month, and as a former gymnast, I’m going to say Simone Biles!
