Fiona Hollands, Ph.D.

Founder & Managing Director, EdResearcher

Fiona Hollands is the Founder and Managing Director of EdResearcher. Her work includes evaluating the effectiveness and costs of educational programs and strategies with the aim of demonstrating how education leaders and policymakers can optimize the use of resources in education. Fiona has led the development of software and tools to facilitate various types of cost analysis in education including E$timator (formerly CostOut®) and DecisionMaker®. She strongly believes in learning by doing and aims to help other researchers do just that.

Before founding EdResearcher, Fiona was a Senior Researcher in the Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has collaborated with multiple researchers and education agencies to conduct cost analyses of interventions related to high school completion, early literacy, elementary school reading, online/digital learning, SEL, out-of-school instruction, Gifted & Talented identification; automated detection of learner affect and engagement, alternative credentials, student information systems, school nursing, and professional development.

Prior to becoming an education researcher, Fiona worked in international finance at J.P. Morgan in London, Paris, and New York. She earned a B.A. Honours Degree in Pure and Applied Biology from Oxford University, England; an M.A. degree in Sociology and Education and a Ph.D. in Politics and Education, both from Teachers College, Columbia University. Fiona is a citizen of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.