Karen Gardiner

Karen Gardiner is a principal associate at Abt Associates. She has more than 25 years of experience directing large-scale random assignment studies in the areas of workforce training and income security, conducting implementation research, and providing evaluation technical assistance to programs. Gardiner directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services–funded Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education evaluation of nine career pathways programs. She currently directs the U.S. Department of Labor’s American Apprenticeship Initiative evaluation and the evaluation of Round 4 of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training Grant Program. Gardiner is a project quality advisor on projects in Abt’s social and economic policy division and oversees all division work related to the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families contracts. She was formerly a vice president at the Lewin Group and holds an MPP from the University of Chicago.