Ramonia Rochester is the Director of Research at NDI. She is a social scientist, educator and communications practitioner, with more than 15 years of experience translating business and social issues into effective funding and research development proposals, robust research enquiries and empirically-sound findings and recommendations to support targeted educational programs and social services. Prior to NDI, she worked as a research administrator for a business strategy consulting research firm, eLearning and Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences researcher and project manager and co-investigator for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Teen Dating Violence Prevention capacity building initiative for Miami-Dade County, Florida. She is an advocate for policy development and empowerment training for equitable access to programs supports for underserved communities, and is particularly passionate about addressing intersecting issues across mental health-related disabilities, homelessness and economic inclusivity. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Science from Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica, a research master’s in Communications from Florida International University and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida Atlantic University.