Our Team
L. ARTHI KRISHNASWAMI
L. Arthi Krishnaswami is founder and CEO of the Community Success Institute and an award-winning information designer and visualization expert. As part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Education’s MyData initiative under the Obama Administration, Arthi developed prototypes designed to demonstrate how a trust framework for the exchange of personal student data could drive positive educational outcomes. Her RyeCatcher Education software, designed to support families and students with special needs, was made possible with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She was later awarded a grant for expanding RyeCatcher through the Trust Challenge: Building Trust in Connected Learning Environments, an effort supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Previously, while at the College Board, Arthi led user-centered re-designs of applications for the SAT, PSAT, and other College Board programs used by millions of students each year. Her work has been published by Oxford University Press, NOVA Science publishers, the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, among others. Arthi received her A.B. in Public Policy from Brown University and her Master of Design in Communication Planning and Information Design from Carnegie Mellon University.
SHERYL GRANT, PHD
Sheryl Grant is director of research at the Community Success Institute and an information scientist specializing in values-driven design and trust frameworks in education. Formerly at Duke University, Dr. Grant spent 9 years with HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, Technology, Alliance and Collaboratory) a network of individuals and institutions advocating for, and thinking critically about, the changing ways we teach and learn. HASTAC administered the Trust Challenge: Building Trust in Connected Learning Environments with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Dr. Grant is a contributor to the Aspen Institute’s Guide for Creating Trusted Learning Environments, a publication produced by the Aspen Institute’s Communications and Society Programs. Her previous research includes The Human Face of Crowdsourcing: A Citizen-led Crowdsourcing Case Study, funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration. She is a published author and nationally recognized expert on open digital badges, an innovative form of human- and machine-readable digital credential designed to function across open, interoperable trust frameworks.
FELLOWS
People with expertise in policy become more effective when they use design thinking and skills to effect change.
Designers who understand the role of policy can create more meaningful and long-lasting change.
The Community Success Institute offers competitive Policy & Design Fellowships to graduate and post-graduate students.
Policy & Design Fellows work closely with the Community Success Institute's research and design team to evaluate how communities use needs assessment data to lift families and students out of the cycle of unmet needs.
Fellows provide technical support, facilitate student- and social-support services, conduct data analysis, and create reports that demonstrate outcomes of student- and family interventions in demonstration cities.
More broadly, fellows research how community organizations handle needs assessment data collection and analysis, especially in environments that are moving toward more data-rich practices in underserved communities.