Epicenter Adds Professional to Expand Services

Epicenter equips leading organizations around the country to empower people, share information, and achieve results. We have strong, creative, and dedicated people working to ensure that we achieve those goals.

We are excited to announce Joe Marr as the latest edition to our staff. He will be the Director of Performance and Analytics, and his focus is on Performance Center.

Joe comes from Central Michigan University (CMU), having served as the Evaluation Manager for The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools. Joe earned his Master of Economics and Bachelor of Economics, both from CMU, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Measurement and Quantitative Methods from Michigan State University. We asked Joe a few questions about himself and his new position.

You are the Director of Performance and Analytics. What does that mean?

I’m in charge of the thought process and the direction that Performance Center is headed. I will help to ensure that the charts and data we present in Performance Center provide information and context that’s important and relevant for the many stakeholders that use Epicenter.

What is Performance Center?

It’s a place in Epicenter that provides data and context regarding performance on standardized tests, financial health, and also enrollment details so that authorizers and schools can see important information regarding the viability of their schools.

How specifically does Performance Center help schools and authorizers?

Performance Center helps schools and authorizers easily look at the important academic, demographic, and financial data in easy to understand charts and graphs. It’s a central location that pulls together the highlights of what is being seen in various subsets to inform stakeholders on the financial and academic health of their schools.

What were you doing before you started at Epicenter?

I was the Evaluation Manager at The John Engler Center for Charter Schools. I was in charge of putting together all the pieces to evaluate the performance of our portfolio of schools. I worked with the data that the test vendors gave us. And I also worked with the schools to communicate how to read the assessments and how to read the key indicators from those reports.

I also made sure that the methodology we were using was effective in the evaluation of our schools, especially compared to how others around the nation were evaluating their schools.

How did you get started in charter schools?

I went to graduate school to get my degree in economics. I was really interested in the work on analytics in higher education. I got interested in the use of data in education evaluation and decision making, especially in K-12 education. I had some connections in the charter school arena and I became an analyst at CMU’s charter school office.

What are your hobbies?

My wife and I have almost 17 acres of woods and I like working on my property. We both really like being outside. We also have a Harley Davidson Road King motorcycle and we like to ride. We had our first baby, Joseph Maverick, in mid-August!