Rockville Institute Affiliates in
Native American Issues

Karla Eisen, MSW, MPH
Cynthia Helba, PhD
Kathryn Langwell, MA
Craig Love, PhD
David Marker, PhD

Karla Eisen, MSW, MPH, has extensive experience in research and program evaluation, as well as direct service provision for American Indian, juvenile justice, and social service programs. She is the field director for the Upper Columbia River Tribal Consumption and Use study, which is using American Indian field interviewers to collect survey data to quantify exposure to local resources through diet, subsistence, and traditional tribal activities. Ms. Eisen also serves as the data manager for the Survey of Jails in Indian Country, which is collecting data from correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She previously worked on an OJJDP-funded study of the child abuse and neglect system and was responsible for the data collection and analysis to produce a case study for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indian site. Earlier in her career, Ms. Eisen worked on a the Rural, Remote and Culturally Distinct demonstration program (SAMHSA/CSAT), which developed a notebook of culturally specific evaluation instruments. Ms. Eisen's areas of expertise include qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis, including instrument design, in-depth interviews, telephone interviewing, and focus groups. She has experience in program evaluation, case studies, ethnographic methods, instrument design, and field data collection, including computer-assisted interviews.
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Cynthia Helba, PhD, is a sociologist with experience in social science research, including working with Native American populations. She directs a project involving data on the health and well-being of Native Americans and has completed a study of the barriers to Native Americans' access to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' grant programs. Dr. Helba is also a methodologist on a survey of Native American youth as part of a university and the Tribal Leader's Council of Montana-Wyoming Project EXPORT. She has served as a key staff member for the Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Evaluation Feasibility Study.
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Kathryn Langwell, MA, has extensive experience in research on health care financing, health workforce studies, managed care organization and process of care, and health disparities. She was project director for a study of Native Americans' eligibility and enrollment in Medicaid, SCHIP, and Medicare and was co-Principal Investigator for a Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Evaluation Feasibility Study and on the barriers to Native Americans' access to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' grant programs. Ms. Langwell is core research director for a National Institutes of Health/National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities grant to conduct health disparities research with tribes in Montana and Wyoming.
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Craig Love, PhD, has conducted research and evaluation studies on Native American populations in a variety of behavioral health programs. Some of the major studies include treatment and prevention of AIDS, substance abuse, delinquency, and several untoward physical and mental consequences of these problem behaviors. Over the years Dr. Love has written numerous articles on research and evaluation of human service projects, particularly with Native Americans. He has developed and taught courses on substance abuse and criminal justice issues among Native Americans while faculty at Brown University.
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David Marker, PhD, is a senior statistician with expertise in project management, quality control and improvement, survey research, sampling, survey evaluation, data analysis, imputation, modeling, and small area statistics. Dr. Marker has worked on studies in the fields of health, the environment, education, housing, energy, social services, insurance, and transportation, as well as in the commercial sector. He has also appeared as an expert witness before Federal, state, and local governments. Dr. Marker has worked on studies in the area of quality control and improvement for the U.S. Department of Education, the Energy Information Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is an internationally recognized consultant in total quality management, having been invited to conduct training sessions for the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish governments on improving the quality of their data collection activities. He has also conducted audits of statistical offices in South Africa, Denmark, and The Netherlands. Dr. Marker is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Statistical Association and Chair of its Scientific and Public Affairs Advisory Committee.
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