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Kimberly O’Malley joins RTI International as senior vice president of Education and Workforce Development

Research Triangle Park, NC— Kimberly O’Malley has joined RTI International as senior vice president of Education and Workforce Development within the Social, Statistical and Environmental Sciences business unit of RTI—a unit that specializes in conducting large-scale education studies that examine access to and persistence in education; sources of funding for postsecondary education; transition to college and careers; access to science, technology, engineering, and math courses; and post-baccalaureate education and employment.

O’Malley is an internationally recognized expert in measurement, the use of technology to improve learning and assessments, predictive analytics and research on system-level improvements in education.

She has built and grown research teams in the health and education fields, held leadership roles driving the administration of state-wide assessment programs in 16 states, and advised numerous federal, state and district education officials. She has also advised ministries of education in Brazil, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

In her new role, O’Malley will lead approximately 200 researchers in Social, Statistical and Environmental Sciences and work closely with RTI's International Development Group business unit, including Melinda Taylor, senior vice president for international education, and Andrew Baird, senior director for workforce and economic opportunities, to grow RTI’s education and workforce development business, stature and impact.

O’Malley joins RTI after working for 13 years at Pearson—with 40,000 employees, it is the world’s largest education company—where most recently she was senior vice president for the Global School Research Team. At Pearson, O’Malley grew a network of more than 50 researchers and six innovation centers that aligned expertise across learning, data, analytics and educator effectiveness to create thought leadership in the scientific and policy communities in the United States and globally.

“Kimberly’s background and experience are extremely well suited to growing RTI’s education and workforce practice,” said Tim Gabel, executive vice president of Social, Statistical and Environmental Sciences. “With her focus on innovation, noted accomplishments in effectively disseminating research and building scientific stature, and the unique perspectives she brings from being both a passionate educator and researcher, I’m confident she is going to be a dynamic leader for the unit and RTI more broadly.”

O’Malley started her professional career with a joint appointment at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs, where she taught course work in psychometric theory, built a research team, advised various medical staff in supporting medical data analyses and procured funding from granting agencies, such as National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Veterans Administration.

Following her joint appointment, O’Malley worked in various roles at Pearson. There, O’Malley led assessment research teams, oversaw psychometric services teams and coordinated psychometric services for customer contacts across the United States.

Early in her career, O’Malley was an elementary and middle school teacher for seven years and taught general education as well as special and bilingual education. She was named Teacher of the Year in 1994 for the school she taught at in the Houston area.

O’Malley received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and education, a master’s degree in educational administration and a doctorate degree in educational psychology, measurement and statistics from the University of Houston.

O’Malley has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. She has also contributed to the advancement of her field through 300 industry presentations and keynotes in six countries.