Grace Fairweather

Grace is the Program Assistant for the Growth Lab. Their work involves supporting programs, finance, and sponsored research.

Grace came to the Growth Lab after working in Accessibility Services at Simmons University and has enjoyed a wide range of work experience including as a professional musician, a middle school orchestra teacher, an EMT and Covid-19 vaccinator, and an indoor rowing instructor.

Grace holds their M.Mus. in Cello Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee and their B.Mus. in Music Education from NYU. In addition to their work at the Growth Lab, Grace teaches private cello lessons to students of all ages and can sometimes be seen performing cello at weddings and other events.

Sandra Bachman

Sandra joined the Growth Lab as a Financial Analyst in January 2024. In her role, Sandra is responsible for financial planning, analysis, and budget functions. Prior to joining the Growth Lab Sandra worked at HKS Executive Education in a financial support position. Previously, she had various financial management roles in Government, financial services, and banking. Sandra has an A.B. in Economics from Wheaton College and an MBA from the Simmons College School of Management.

Katelyn Merrigan

Katelyn Merrigan is the Communications and Outreach Specialist for the Growth Lab. 

Katelyn joined the Growth Lab in 2022, and is responsible for promoting and effectively communicating the research and mission of the lab through multimedia content and event management.

Prior to joining the Growth Lab, Katelyn worked in internal communications at Tufts Medicine, where she was responsible for strategizing and producing a variety of communications for employees and the Network’s 2,300+ affiliated Clinicians. Projects included daily COVID-19 crisis communications, launching the new Tufts Medicine brand, event coordination and implementing a new EMR system throughout the physician network.

Katelyn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Writing and Mass Communications with minors in Marketing and Graphic Design from Assumption College and a graduate certificate in Digital Storytelling from Harvard Extension School.  

Kim Tablante

Kim Tablante is the Senior Sponsored Research Administrator for the Growth Lab. Her work involves management of the lab’s federal and non-federal sponsored projects from the pre-award application stage to post-award financial monitoring. She is responsible for all aspects of the research administrative process, including budget development, contract negotiations, and expense authorization.

Prior to joining the Growth Lab in 2022, Kim worked in sponsored research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for seven years as a Senior Research Administrator, managing a portfolio largely composed of NIH-funded grants, foundation awards, and industry-sponsored clinical trials for several departments across the hospital.

Kim received her B.A in International Studies from American University in Washington, D.C., with a concentration in global governance, politics, and security in Western Europe and a Minor in Communication.

Alicia Galinsky

Alicia is the Senior Program Manager at Harvard’s Growth Lab.

Prior to joining the Growth Lab, she worked as an Account Manager with EF Education First, collaborating with teachers across the country to plan educational trips for their students. During her time with EF, she also worked as a translator for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, facilitating post-event translations between the Spanish-speaking athletes and the English-speaking media. Previously, Alicia taught English in Valladolid, Spain, for a year.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in International Studies from the University of Connecticut and enjoys running, reading, and traveling in her free time.

Andrea Hayes

Andrea Hayes is the Growth Lab’s Director of Programs, responsible for a wide range of program activities including recruiting and performance management, resource allocation, proposal process and reporting, liaising with internal and external stakeholders.

Prior to joining CID in 2015, Andrea spent nine years working at Accion International. As Principal Specialist in the Training and Capacity Building unit (TCB), Andrea managed many of the unit’s programs and activities including Accion’s Orientation Training Program targeted to Senior Technical and Investments staff; Accion’s Global Certification & Licensing of Signature trainings; the unit’s blended learning programs.

She has traveled extensively in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Andrea is fluent in English and Spanish. A native of Ecuador, she holds a BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Government from Harvard’s Extension School.

Chuck McKenney

Chuck McKenney is the Director of Communications & Outreach for the Growth Lab at Harvard Kennedy School. He has more than 25 years of experience in broadcast, digital, and print communications and has worked for academic, media, corporate, and nonprofit organizations.

During his tenure at the Kennedy School, he was nominated to serve on three school-wide initiatives: the Digital Blueprint Strategy team (an effort to assess the ways the HKS community uses technology), the Website Redesign Project team (work that included setting a collective vision and voice for the school, content strategy, user experience, site architecture and more), and the Website Advisory Group (working to define the vision and future direction for HKS external website and intranet). He and other members of the Website Redesign Project team were awarded the HKS Dean’s Award in 2017 for their collaborative work over 18 months to design, develop, and implement a new public website for the school.

Previously, he spent nearly a decade producing television news programs for WBZ-TV in Boston. During his time as Managing Editor for Citizens Count, a New Hampshire nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement, he helped launch a comprehensive database of hundreds of elected officials.

He holds a BS in Mass Communications from Emerson College.

Andrea Neilan Carranza

Andrea Neilan Carranza is the Executive Director of the Growth Lab at Harvard’s Center for International Development. Andrea has over 20 years’ experience in business development and oversees the center’s operations and strategic development.

Prior to the Growth Lab, Andrea was an Advisor to Grameen Research and Director with Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA), a global energy research firm. She launched several new businesses for IHS CERA, including the firm’s Global Power Forum, a membership serving C-level executives from electric utilities, independent power producers and government ministries; CERA’s Asia Pacific Energy practice and its global financial services practice.

Andrea was an English teacher at Kai Tak Vietnamese refugee camp in Hong Kong and co–founded Boston Cares. Andrea has a MA in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University and a BA from James Madison University.