Susan Bush-Mecenas

Susan Bush-Mecenas is a policy researcher at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research examines the enactment and implementation of PreK–12 education policy using rigorous qualitative methods, drawing on organizational theory, sociology, and political science. She has studied topics including continuous improvement, capacity building, intermediary organizations, school system leadership, teacher evaluation, and instructional coherence. Previously, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy. She is also trained in implementation facilitation through the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Bush-Mecenas earned her MA in policy, organization, and leadership studies from Stanford University and a PhD in urban education policy from the University of Southern California.

updated 2025