Overview

Alice Ann Gola, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate with 15 years of experience leading and managing research studies related to program evaluation, child nutrition, and child development. Currently she serves as the project director of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Fourth Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification Study (APEC-IV). APEC-IV will estimate national error rates and improper payments in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) during School Year 2023-2024. She is also the project director for the Family Child Care Home (FCCH) Provider Experience Study, which examines reasons why FCCH providers do and do not participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Prior to joining Westat, she was the FNS project lead on multiple large-scale child nutrition research projects, including the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) and the Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings (SNACS). Gola has authored multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals and presented research findings at conferences in the U.S. and abroad.

Education

• PhD, Developmental Psychology, University of Connecticut

• BS, Psychology (minor in Chemistry), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill