Anika Alam is the Assistant Director at the Center for Educational Data Science and Innovation. She holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2025, where she was an AERA-NSF Dissertation Fellow and an IES Predoctoral Fellow. Her research applies machine learning, causal inference, and economic evaluation methods to better understand policies and programs that improve education outcomes, especially for children from households struggling with poverty. Prior to completing her doctorate degree, she taught math at DC Public Schools for 4 years. She holds a B.S. degree in Policy, Analysis, and Management from Cornell University.

Her responsibilities at EDSI include being a thought partner in designing & implementing EDSI's strategic plan, ensuring alignment with the University of Maryland and the College of Education's mission and goals; working with the center director and other affiliated faculty on research studies; providing support in grant preparations & proposals, and management of awards, contributing to the preparation of research papers, reports, and presentations for academic and non-academic audiences.