IMPACT Research Team

When you work with the Social IMPACT Research Center (IMPACT), your project will benefit from our collaborative approach that leverages the experience and skills of each team member to create the highest quality product. IMPACT staff are not only skilled in the various technical aspects of research and evaluations, but also have proven success in communicating findings using media, briefing, and Web strategies.

Amy Rynell, Director

Amy is a facilitation expert, specializing in the fields of strategic planning and long-term systemic change. She has over 15 years of experience running meetings, directing coalitions, leading planning processes, and leading focus groups. In addition, Amy has in-depth knowledge of poverty and homelessness through providing direct services within a homeless system for 5 years, through being involved with homeless system planning through leadership positions within the Chicago Continuum of Care and coordinating the Regional Roundtable on Homelessness, and through documenting and evaluating best practices in addressing homelessness. She is a frequent presenter at National Alliance to End Homelessness conferences and others. Amy is particularly sensitive to the diversity of people experiencing homelessness, those with disabilities, and people experiencing poverty and the stereotypes regarding them. In light of this, she tailors her presentation style and content to meet her audiences ‘where they are at’.

Amy has worked for Heartland Alliance since 1997 and oversees the Social IMPACT Research Center's consulting and research activities. She serves as a spokesperson on poverty issues, coordinates the Regional Roundtable on Homelessness of Northeastern Illinois, and directs the National Transitional Jobs Network. In addition, Amy has served as co-chair of the Chicago Continuum’s Evaluation Committee and worked to document progress on Chicago’s Ten-Year Plan. Amy has worked on a variety of projects, including an evaluation of permanent supportive housing in the state of Illinois; an evaluation of DuPage County’s Plan to End Homelessness; and an inventory of public housing and housing choice vouchers capacity and waiting lists. She also oversaw the most comprehensive study of homelessness in northeastern Illinois and has been involved in studies of unemployed adults with multiple employment barriers.

Amy’s exceptional communication skills have resulted in countless stories on economic security issues run in media outlets and invitations to present at hundreds of events throughout the nation on issues impacting vulnerable populations.

Amy has a MA from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Amy Terpstra, Associate Director

Amy is a data analyst with expertise in Census Bureau, economic, health, and human services data collection, interpretation, and communication. Amy’s analyses have informed the work of thousands of service providers, advocacy groups, local and county governments, coalitions, and policy makers throughout Illinois and the Midwest.

Amy’s work focuses on poverty, income, and housing-related issues. She conducts research for and jointly authors the Social IMPACT Research Center's annual Reports on Illinois and Chicago Region Poverty and works on IMPACT's Self-Sufficiency Project. Amy works with clients from all sectors who are seeking data and information to inform their program decisions, service delivery structure, advocacy work, and planning.

Amy also brings a variety of research skills to the table. She is experienced in survey development, focus group development and facilitation, data analysis, and overall project management. For the last several years she has served in an adjunct capacity teaching social work and sociology research methods courses to undergraduate students.

Amy’s knowledge of affordable housing issues and understanding of the scope and dynamics of poverty and hardship for individuals and communities allow her to approach projects with a keen sense of the macro/system mechanisms in play. Amy is also experienced at leveraging projects to influence decision makers, primarily through presentations and strategic use of the media.

Amy has a MSW from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Lindy Carrow, Research Assistant

Lindy has experience in both direct service and research in the human service sector. She has worked in an after-school program with ethnically diverse low-income youth in a nonprofit setting and in a domestic violence recovery center, also serving the low-income population of Chicago. Lindy has a strong grasp on the realities of life for low-income urban populations from her direct work in nonprofits.

Lindy has also worked on an ethnographic research study in the Chicago Public School system using qualitative data to analyze the acculturation process of refugee youth in a multicultural setting. This and other projects have given her experience in qualitative data collection, database management, and data analysis and presentation. 

Lindy has a MSW from Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 
 

Ian Mobley, Research Assistant

In addition to his prior experience working with at-risk youth, people experiencing homelessness, and LGBT clients, Ian has worked on a variety of research projects throughout the United States. With Dr. Clifton S. Tanabe, PhD, JD, a professor of Education and Law at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Ian conducted a literature review, field research, and interviews pertaining to a 2008 McKinney-Vento case as part of a study examining the current state of equal educational opportunities for homeless youth in Hawaii. As a research assistant with Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, he works on the SAFE Children and Families Study, a longitudinal study that examines effects of neighborhood and community characteristics on youth behavior. 

Ian is currently an MA student at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.

Jennifer Clary, Research Assistant

Jennifer has several years experience working to improve quality of life for marginalized and disadvantaged populations. She possesses strong skills as a writer, and for engaging in comprehensive planning processes and working for social change. Jennifer is currently working on communicating the updated Self-Sufficiency Standard for Illinois to various stakeholders.

Before joining the IMPACT team, Jennifer spent four years at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) spearheading a comprehensive content review of sex education curricula in use in Illinois classrooms and engaging in policy and advocacy efforts to improve adolescent sexual health in the state. Jennifer used her time at ICAH to build upon her prior experience as a member of the education team at the Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School—a residential school for primarily high-school aged youth with severe to extreme emotional disturbances—cultivating strong communication, issue research, project management, and presentation skills; and developing a deep commitment to working with and for individuals whose voices are too often excluded from the debates that impact them directly and disproportionately. 

Jennifer has a MA in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

 

Jean Lam, Program Coordinator

Jean provides clerical, administrative, and various programmatic support to IMPACT. Jean joined Heartland Alliance in 2002 as an Administrative Assistant. Her previous experience includes database maintenance and information services support.