About Us
The Evidence-to-Impact Podcast brings together academic researchers, government partners and others outside of academia to talk about research insights and real-world policy solutions in Pennsylvania and beyond.
This podcast series is supported by the Social Science Research Institute, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Administrative Data Accelerator, the Office of Vice President of Research, and the College of Health and Human Development.
As the Director of Policy & Outreach at Penn State’s Administrative Data Accelerator, Michael Donovan leads policy operations and facilitates collaborative projects between the research community and external partners, including federal and state government agencies and departments, philanthropic organizations and foundations, think tanks, and other academic entities. His efforts aim to build and maintain strategic partnerships that both produce scientific value and contribute to the creation of policy-relevant, practical insights. Michael also serves as the Associate Director of the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative, a unit of the Social Science Research Institute. He brings nearly a decade of government and political experience to Penn State, having previously served from 2009-2017 at the White House as a Special Assistant to President Obama overseeing the planning and execution of the administration’s strategic agenda. He possesses extensive theoretical and applied policy expertise gained through formal education and professional experience. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Penn State, an M.A. in National Security Policy Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and is soon to complete an M.B.A. from Penn State Smeal College of Business.
Melissa Krug is the Public Relations Specialist for the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative (EIC) and the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse (CCSA). She is responsible for producing, editing, and stewarding the EIC podcast and its website. In addition to running the Evidence-to-Impact podcast, she is responsible for external communications for CCSA, including website content, social media, news articles, and outreach. Before serving at Penn State, she fulfilled several different roles throughout state and local government and the nonprofit world, most recently serving as a policy analyst at the Fiscal Policy Institute and a student assistant for the New York State Division of the Budget. She was also a Center for Women in Government and Civil Society Fellow in 2017, serving with the Fiscal Policy Institute. She holds a B.A. in Spanish and International Trade from SUNY Oswego, an M.P.A. from SUNY Albany. and is currently pursuing a Certificate in Fundraising Leadership from Penn State.