Dr. Zhina Shen, Director of Research and Evaluation at Innovative Learning Center
Research • Evaluation • Data-Driven Impact

Dr. Zhina Shen

Director of Research and Evaluation at ILC

Dr. Zhina Shen is the Director of Research and Evaluation at ILC, and will serve as the senior evaluator for this school-based telebehavioral health program. Dr. Shen brings a unique combination of expertise in behavioral research, special education, and advanced data analysis.

Ph.D. in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders from the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin

M.S. in Statistics from the Department of Natural Sciences

Special education teaching certification

Experience & Expertise

Dr. Shen has extensive experience working with school-based programs serving students with autism and other behavioral challenges. In a previous role, she led the evaluation of a program supporting students with autism, analyzing behavioral outcomes and generating individualized progress reports for families. Her work emphasized data-driven decision-making and parent communication to support student growth in both academic and behavioral domains.

She has deep methodological expertise in randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental designs, meta-analyses, and secondary data analysis, as well as qualitative methods such as structured interviews and focus groups. Dr. Shen previously served as Principal Investigator of a state-funded project examining manipulative-based interventions for K–12 students with math learning difficulties, where she led a meta-analysis to assess intervention impact.

Dr. Shen’s interdisciplinary training and applied experience in behavioral evaluation, particularly with underserved and neurodiverse student populations, position her to lead the evaluation of telebehavioral health supports in school settings with cultural sensitivity, rigor, and a strong focus on student outcomes.