Advisory Board Bios for MA Concentration in Public Sociology

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Mr. Joe Costanzo
Joseph.Costanzo@dhs.gov
Joe Costanzo is a Social Science & Policy Analyst in the Office of Policy and Strategy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He joined USCIS in the spring of 2006 after working for 7.5 years with the U.S. Census Bureau. At USCIS, Joe is currently working on several projects including an evaluation of the visa program for victims of human trafficking and a Department-wide initiative to study terrorism and the radicalization of individuals and groups. Along with colleagues from other Homeland Security agencies, Joe coordinates the Federal Working Group on International Migration Statistics and Research. This working group brings together agencies from across the Executive Branch to share current work and to collaborate on joint projects to advance the federal government’s contribution in the area of international migration.

Prior to coming to USCIS, Joe worked for the U.S. Census Bureau where he led a team of researchers to develop estimates of the illegal migrant population (PDF) in the United States. Also, while participating in the Executive Leadership Development Program, Joe was selected as Acting Chief of the International Relations Office of the Census Bureau. Since 1992, Joe has worked for, among others, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Institute for the Study of International Migration, and Refugee Policy Group. Joe received his Masters Degree in Applied Demography from Georgetown University in 1998 and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 1993. When not in the office at USCIS, Joe is working towards a PhD in Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Maryland—College Park. His academic interests include environment-behavior studies, structure and symbolism, vandalism, and the 2005 French riots.

Dr. Cynthia (Cindy) Helba
helbac@westat.com
Cynthia Helba has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to entering the applied sociology field, Dr. Helba was a NICHD postdoctoral fellow for two years at The Population Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr Helba currently is a Senior Study Director at Westat, an employee-owned social science research company in Rockville, Maryland. Her responsibilities at Westat included project management and analytical consulting with an emphasis on multivariate statistical modeling. Dr. Helba is currently directing the Study of Data on Health and Well-Being of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other Native Americans (AI/AN/NA) for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services (OASPE/HHS). She recently completed another project for OASPE/HHS, Barriers to AI/AN/NA Access to HHS Grant Programs study and was key staff for the OASPE Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Evaluation Feasibility Study in 2003-2004. She also is currently providing survey methodology and psychometric analysis technical assistance to the MT-WY Tribal Leaders Council in its efforts to develop a version of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems directed at American Indian communities as one component of its Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ/HHS) Minority Research Infrastructure Support Program grant.

Dr. Helba’s primary focus during her career has been model development using a variety of data sets, including large national survey databases and longitudinal data. Her work has involved the use of state-of-the-art techniques, including structural equation modeling with latent variables, event history analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, survival models, and simultaneous equations to account for sample selection and attrition bias. She also has worked with many Federal agencies including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Departments of Defense and Justice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Courts, as well as with the HHS.

Dr. Douglas Klayman
Klayman@american.edu
Dr. Douglas Klayman is an applied sociologist with over 16 years experience in social science research, evaluation and consulting with non-profit and government agencies. He has designed and conducted studies in a variety of areas including health care, education, runaway and homeless youth, child welfare, labor, wraparound mental health and Head Start programs. He has conducted numerous workshops and presentations on program evaluation and monitoring procedures on behalf of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, and has worked on-site with state agencies and federal grantees on the development of evaluation and assessment systems. Dr. Klayman frequently lends his expertise to assist government and national non-profit agencies in analyzing and assessing emerging policy issues and changing policy directions related to evaluation and monitoring of programs that target disadvantaged families and children.

He holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology with emphases in Applied Sociology and Evaluation and is Program Coordinator of the American University (Washington, DC) Master of Arts Professional Sociology program. Dr. Klayman is also President of Social Dynamics, the social research, evaluation and performance measurement organization he founded in 2003.

Dr. Manuel de la Puente
manuel.de.la.puente@census.gov
Dr. de la Puente is an applied sociologist with over 20 years of professional experience conducting applied social research in the private sector and in the federal government. Currently Dr. de la Puente is Assistant Division Chief for Survey Methodology in the Statistical Research Division at the U.S. Census Bureau. In this capacity he leads a group of twenty five survey methodologists, anthropologists, social psychologists, and other social scientists dedicated to the study of nonsampling errors in surveys and to the improvement of data quality. Since 1989, Dr. de la Puente has held other positions at the U.S. Census Bureau including Chief of the Ethnic and Hispanic Statistics Branch in the Bureau's Population Division. In this capacity Dr. de la Puente led and conducted demographic and socioeconomic research on the Hispanic population in the U.S. Dr. de la Puente authored several reports on this topic while serving as Brach Chief. Prior to taking this position Dr. de la Puente was an analyst in the Center for Survey Methods Research at the Census Bureau. In this capacity he conducted ethnographic research on the reasons why individuals are omitted or erroneously enumerated in the decennial census. Prior to joining the U.S. Census Bureau, Dr. de la Puente held research positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). At FNS he served as project officer for numerous evaluation studies of the Food Stamp Program nation wide and commodity programs on American Indian reservations. Dr. de la Puente began his federal service at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). While at GAO he participated in several congressionally mandated evaluations. Dr. de la Puente's private sector experience includes research positions at The Urban Institute and the National Council of La Raza, both in Washington, D.C... Before coming to Washington, D.C., Dr. de la Puente taught for a brief time at Rutgers University. Throughout his career Dr. de la Puente has published his research in journals and book chapters. He has also presented his work at numerous national and international conferences and workshops.

Dr. de la Puente's current research interests include border communities and how to best obtain social, economic, and demographic data from persons living in these communities. Dr. de la Puente is also continuing his research on race and ethnic origin. His current focus in this area is an examination of the contextual factors that influence race and ethnic self identification.

Dr. de la Puente holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in sociology from Columbia University, an M.A. in sociology from Fordham University, and a B.A. in political science and sociology from St. Peters College in New Jersey.

Advisory Board Bios for MA Concentration in Public Sociology Career Prospects \| Advisory Board \| Links \| MAPS main page Mr. Joe Costanzo Joseph.Costanzo@dhs.gov Joe Costanzo is a Social Science & Policy Analyst in the Office of Policy and Strategy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He joined USCIS in the spring of 2006 after working for 7.5 years with the U.S. Census Bureau. At USCIS, Joe is currently working on several projects including an evaluation of the visa program for victims of human trafficking and a Department-wide initiative to study terrorism and the radicalization of individuals and groups. Along with colleagues from other Homeland Security agencies, Joe coordinates the Federal Working Group on International Migration Statistics and Research. This working group brings together agencies from across the Executive Branch to share current work and to collaborate on joint projects to advance the federal government’s contribution in the area of international migration. Prior to coming to USCIS, Joe worked for the U.S. Census Bureau where he led a team of researchers to develop estimates of the illegal migrant population (PDF) in the United States. Also, while participating in the Executive Leadership Development Program, Joe was selected as Acting Chief of the International Relations Office of the Census Bureau. Since 1992, Joe has worked for, among others, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Institute for the Study of International Migration, and Refugee Policy Group. Joe received his Masters Degree in Applied Demography from Georgetown University in 1998 and his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 1993. When not in the office at USCIS, Joe is working towards a PhD in Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Maryland—College Park. His academic interests include environment-behavior studies, structure and symbolism, vandalism, and the 2005 French riots. Back to top Dr. Cynthia (Cindy) Helba helbac@westat.com Cynthia Helba has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to entering the applied sociology field, Dr. Helba was a NICHD postdoctoral fellow for two years at The Population Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr Helba currently is a Senior Study Director at Westat, an employee-owned social science research company in Rockville, Maryland. Her responsibilities at Westat included project management and analytical consulting with an emphasis on multivariate statistical modeling. Dr. Helba is currently directing the Study of Data on Health and Well-Being of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other Native Americans (AI/AN/NA) for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services (OASPE/HHS). She recently completed another project for OASPE/HHS, Barriers to AI/AN/NA Access to HHS Grant Programs study and was key staff for the OASPE Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Evaluation Feasibility Study in 2003-2004. She also is currently providing survey methodology and psychometric analysis technical assistance to the MT-WY Tribal Leaders Council in its efforts to develop a version of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems directed at American Indian communities as one component of its Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ/HHS) Minority Research Infrastructure Support Program grant. Dr. Helba’s primary focus during her career has been model development using a variety of data sets, including large national survey databases and longitudinal data. Her work has involved the use of state-of-the-art techniques, including structural equation modeling with latent variables, event history analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, survival models, and simultaneous equations to account for sample selection and attrition bias. She also has worked with many Federal agencies including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Departments of Defense and Justice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the U.S. Courts, as well as with the HHS. Back to top Dr. Douglas Klayman Klayman@american.edu Dr. Douglas Klayman is an applied sociologist with over 16 years experience in social science research, evaluation and consulting with non-profit and government agencies. He has designed and conducted studies in a variety of areas including health care, education, runaway and homeless youth, child welfare, labor, wraparound mental health and Head Start programs. He has conducted numerous workshops and presentations on program evaluation and monitoring procedures on behalf of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, and has worked on-site with state agencies and federal grantees on the development of evaluation and assessment systems. Dr. Klayman frequently lends his expertise to assist government and national non-profit agencies in analyzing and assessing emerging policy issues and changing policy directions related to evaluation and monitoring of programs that target disadvantaged families and children. He holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology with emphases in Applied Sociology and Evaluation and is Program Coordinator of the American University (Washington, DC) Master of Arts Professional Sociology program. Dr. Klayman is also President of Social Dynamics, the social research, evaluation and performance measurement organization he founded in 2003. Back to top Dr. Manuel de la Puente manuel.de.la.puente@census.gov Dr. de la Puente is an applied sociologist with over 20 years of professional experience conducting applied social research in the private sector and in the federal government. Currently Dr. de la Puente is Assistant Division Chief for Survey Methodology in the Statistical Research Division at the U.S. Census Bureau. In this capacity he leads a group of twenty five survey methodologists, anthropologists, social psychologists, and other social scientists dedicated to the study of nonsampling errors in surveys and to the improvement of data quality. Since 1989, Dr. de la Puente has held other positions at the U.S. Census Bureau including Chief of the Ethnic and Hispanic Statistics Branch in the Bureau's Population Division. In this capacity Dr. de la Puente led and conducted demographic and socioeconomic research on the Hispanic population in the U.S. Dr. de la Puente authored several reports on this topic while serving as Brach Chief. Prior to taking this position Dr. de la Puente was an analyst in the Center for Survey Methods Research at the Census Bureau. In this capacity he conducted ethnographic research on the reasons why individuals are omitted or erroneously enumerated in the decennial census. Prior to joining the U.S. Census Bureau, Dr. de la Puente held research positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). At FNS he served as project officer for numerous evaluation studies of the Food Stamp Program nation wide and commodity programs on American Indian reservations. Dr. de la Puente began his federal service at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). While at GAO he participated in several congressionally mandated evaluations. Dr. de la Puente's private sector experience includes research positions at The Urban Institute and the National Council of La Raza, both in Washington, D.C... Before coming to Washington, D.C., Dr. de la Puente taught for a brief time at Rutgers University. Throughout his career Dr. de la Puente has published his research in journals and book chapters. He has also presented his work at numerous national and international conferences and workshops. Dr. de la Puente's current research interests include border communities and how to best obtain social, economic, and demographic data from persons living in these communities. Dr. de la Puente is also continuing his research on race and ethnic origin. His current focus in this area is an examination of the contextual factors that influence race and ethnic self identification. Dr. de la Puente holds a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in sociology from Columbia University, an M.A. in sociology from Fordham University, and a B.A. in political science and sociology from St. Peters College in New Jersey. Back to top
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