Since joining MDRC in 2008, Bernardi has worked on site development, research operations, and implementation data collection and analysis. She currently manages site operations for HomePath, an evaluation of a Housing First intervention with shared medical appointments that aims to reduce homelessness and substance abuse relapse among “frequent users” of social systems, and Paycheck Plus, which simulates an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for single workers without dependent children. Recently, Bernardi has been involved in large-scale demonstration projects in early childhood education, such as the ExCEL and VIQI projects, where she is responsible for the provision of technical assistance, the development of strategic partnerships, and site recruitment.
Previously, she served as a primary site liaison for Improving Contraceptive Options Now (ICON), a demonstration project evaluating what works in the effort to expand contraceptive choices for low-income women. Earlier in her career at MDRC, she contributed to the implementation evaluation of Project Rise, an internship program for “disconnected” young adults that required participants to attend high school equivalency classes. Bernardi holds a BA in community health and sociology from Brown University and a master’s degree in public administration, specializing in health policy analysis, from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
