Deborah L. Feldman is a senior research consultant with over 25 years of experience in human services–related research. Since 1993 she has operated her own consulting firm, providing pragmatic evaluation and research services to government and nonprofit organizations. She has led training workshops on planning and managing an evaluation and has served as principal evaluator on numerous federally funded projects. Deborah's research has centered on improving juvenile justice, education, and prevention programs for at-risk youth. Her strong personal interest in examining the dropout issue stems from her extensive work with programs for court-involved youth, a population for whom school problems figure prominently.