Katherine Ortega Courtney
has a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Texas Christian University, where she studied at the Institute of Behavioral Research. Dr. Courtney worked with the State of New Mexico for eight years, first as the Juvenile Justice Epidemiologist, then as Bureau Chief of the Child Protective Services Research, Assessment and Data Bureau. Dr. Courtney championed and co-developed the New Mexico Data Leaders for Child Welfare program, which was implemented in NYC, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. She has worked in policy and research and has led community initiatives, through her work, at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and the New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership. She is currently the co-director of the Anna Age Eight Institute at New Mexico State University. She can be reached at annaageeight.org/contact/.