Sun Young Yoon

Sun Young Yoon, Ph.D. leads data systems development, survey design, and analytical insights at Catalyst Exchange, where she partners with teams to transform complex information into clear, actionable learning. She brings more than 15 years of experience in applied research and program evaluation, with deep expertise in quantitative and mixed-methods designs. Sun is also a certified What Works Clearinghouse reviewer, reflecting her commitment to rigorous, transparent, and meaningful research.

Before joining Catalyst Exchange, Sun served as a principal researcher at Education Northwest, where she led evaluations of major national initiatives in educator preparation and professional development. Her portfolio includes IES-funded studies, OELA National Professional Development grants, PLC at Work, and multiple NSF-funded projects. A central throughline in her work is her interest not only in whether education programs and policies “work,” but in understanding how they work, for whom, and under what conditions. She co-led an IES-funded, multi-state project that brought together education leaders and policymakers to strengthen evidence use and build more coherent systems of support.

Sun has extensive experience managing and analyzing large-scale survey, experimental, and quasi-experimental data, and she is widely recognized for her ability to distill technical findings into insights that stakeholders can immediately use. Prior to her role at Education Northwest, she was a postdoctoral associate at New York University, where she evaluated statewide professional development initiatives in Florida.

She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, with a minor in Quantitative Methods, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Outside of work, Sun enjoys international travel, hiking, and visiting family in Korea.