Linda Cavalluzzo, Ph.D.

We have a team of young, talented analysts and energetic, smart, fun research specialists, and every one of them is a joy to work with.

Dr. Linda Cavalluzzo, managing director of CNA Education, is a senior economist with extensive experience in the design, execution and management of research studies in a variety of pubic policy areas. Her training and experience cut across a range of methodological areas, including econometrics, survey design and implementation, focus group and case study research, and the design and analysis of longitudinal databases.

Since turning her attention to K-12 education in 2003, she has led studies on a wide range of topics, including teacher quality, school reform, virtual and blended/hybrid learning, dual high school/college and middle college programs, and pre-kindergarten education.

Currently, Cavalluzzo is leading an on-going Randomized Control Trial evaluating the impact on student achievement of a hybrid course for Algebra I that uses online courseware to help support student learning. Forty-one schools and over 6,000 students from primarily rural school districts in Kentucky are taking part in the evaluation.

Over the course of her career at CNA, Cavalluzzo has made a series of exceptional contributions to both CNA’s Center for Naval Analyses and CNA’s Institute for Public Research.

Cavalluzzo started her CNA career in 1979 working on readiness and logistics issues – studying the relationship between the tempo of operations and unit readiness – and was among the first group of CNA analysts to connect OPTEMPO, training accomplishment, and unit performance. This work laid the foundation for much of CNA readiness work performed since then.

In 1997 she led a bottom-up assessment Navy’s four institutions of higher education. Her research revealed that, although each school provided a quality education overall, the system was educating the wrong officers in the wrong subjects at the wrong times of their careers. These findings helped convince the Chief of Naval Operations to form an Executive Panel Task Force on Navy Officer Education in the 21st Century – an initiative for which Cavalluzzo provided the analytical support.

Cavalluzzo has been instrumental in creation, development and growth of CNA Education with her contributions spanning a wide range of areas including a better understanding of the teacher workforce; the role of technology, especially in rural teaching; the role and effectiveness of early childhood education; and the effective use of data by teachers and education leaders.

Cavalluzzo is the 2010 recipient of CNA’s Phil E. DePoy Award for Analytical Excellence. She graduated magna cum laude, with a BA in Economics and Political Science, from State University of New York at Buffalo, where she also earned a Masters and PhD in Economics.