Alumna Maggie Reeves to Join the Urban Institute

ATLANTA — Maggie Reeves (M.P.A. ’14), senior director of Georgia State University’s Georgia Policy Labs (GPL), will leave the university mid-October to join the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy as director of program development. Thomas Goldring, director of research at GPL, will step in as interim senior director of the GPL.

Reeves launched the Georgia Policy Labs in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in 2018. Its first director, she led its strategy, team and operations in producing research that drives evidence-based policies to improve the lives of Georgia’s children, k-12 students and families.

“We dreamed up the Georgia Policy Labs based on the belief that we could use integrated data to transform the hope and curiosity of public-sector leaders into actionable, evidence-based strategies, policies and programs that could better respect the dignity of students and families,” Reeves said.  “Through deep partnerships and a commitment to shared learning, we believed we could figure out how to adjust policies and programs to reduce longstanding systemic disparities. In my time as senior director, I am proud to say this idea has become a reality.”

During its nearly five years in existence, the Georgia Policy Labs’ rigorous insights have improved lives.

• More than 70,000 students are getting evidence-based tutoring and interventions to reduce the harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Children in a large metro Atlanta school district are no longer using an ineffective literacy program.
• Families experiencing food insecurity received a cumulative $1.3 billion in food assistance.
• GPL faculty and staff have trained more than 800 public-sector and nonprofit analysts to produce and communicate research more effectively.

Reeves credits this success to the Georgia Policy Labs team and its community partners.

“We have co-created an organization that brings together the wisdom of each individual and is deeply mission driven,” she said.

Prior to her work with GPL, Reeves served as the associate director — then interim director — for the college’s Center for State and Local Finance, where she helped build a robust applied research portfolio and a successful executive education program for government CFOs.

“Nearly five years ago, I embraced the opportunity of a lifetime: Build an organization that could use research and partnerships to improve public policies for children, students and families,” Reeves said. “I will always be the biggest fan of the Georgia Policy Labs. And, because I am a builder of organizations, teams and initiatives, it is time for me to do that once again. I cherish the lessons this work has taught me. What we have built and our commitment to the children, students and families in Georgia and beyond is stable and stronger than ever.”