MDRC President Gordon Berlin recently announced that two MDRC staff members have been named to new leadership positions:

Cindy Redcross has been named Deputy Director of MDRC’s Health and Barriers to Employment Policy Area. Since joining MDRC in 1996, Redcross has led a number of MDRC’s employment projects focusing on individuals with barriers to employment, those involved in the criminal justice system, noncustodial parents, and other low-income populations. She is currently leading several large-scale projects evaluating a range of interventions that target youth and adults involved in the criminal justice system, including DOL’s Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration and the National Institute of Justice’s Demonstration Field Experiment. She is also leading the design and pilot demonstration of a new employment-focused cognitive behavioral therapy intervention. Prior to joining MDRC, Redcross was a researcher for the New York State Assembly. She holds an M.S. in sociology with a focus on urban affairs.

John Martinez has been named the Director of Program Development, after serving for two years as Deputy Director of the same department. Martinez, who joined MDRC in 1997, is an expert in project incubation and start-up. As Director of Program Development, Martinez oversees MDRC’s grants-management and funder-relations functions and plays a key role in new program development across MDRC’s five policy areas. Prior to his program development role, he served as Deputy Director of MDRC’s Health and Barriers to Employment Policy Area, where he focused predominantly on projects targeting young people, including young people with disabilities and those in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Martinez currently serves as chair of the board of directors of the National Youth Employment Coalition and is a member of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s Policy Council. Before joining MDRC, Martinez conducted research in a substance-abuse treatment center and in a community health center with patients with schizophrenia. He began his career as a food stamp eligibility worker. Martinez holds a master of public health degree from Columbia University.