Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

Ryanne DeSpain is a Research Specialist Lead at the Institute of Public Policy. Ryanne received her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Missouri in 2016 before working as a 4th grade teacher in Moberly, Missouri for three years. She received her MPP in Education Policy from Vanderbilt University in 2021. Before joining IPP, Ryanne worked with Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a Data Specialist. She is currently the Principal Investigator on the Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) Annual Performance Report (APR) and the Missouri School Climate and Culture Survey projects. Ryanne has experience in survey design and implementation through Qualtrics, data management and visualization in Tableau, data analysis, and the organization of state educational data. Her interests include program evaluation, policy analysis and implementation, educator preparation and teacher policy, and qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyzing educational issues.