Olivia Lutwak

Olivia Lutwak’s work focuses on K–12 education programs and policies, particularly those serving literacy, elementary students, or underserved groups.

Since joining Mathematica, Lutwak has worked on a variety of federal education. She serves as the task lead for the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central, providing technical assistance to the Wyoming Department of Education on conducting a formative evaluation of their teacher apprenticeship program. Currently, she is writing reports on mental health interventions in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and on state implementation of Title I accountability measures post-pandemic. Lutwak developed content for the REL Mid-Atlantic Toolkit to Support Evidence-Based Writing Instruction in Grades 2 Through 4 and serves as a relevance reviewer for REL Peer Review. She is a group design standards certified reviewer for the What Works Clearinghouse.

Lutwak’s lived experience as a first-grade teacher and K–1 literacy instructional coach at KIPP Chicago contributes to her content knowledge, where she saw firsthand the effects of evidence-based interventions on underserved students and the importance of balancing academics with social-emotional learning. Lutwak also spent time at the U.S. Department of Education reviewing consolidated State Every Student Succeeds Act plans and becoming familiar with accountability measures and requirements.

Lutwak holds a B.A. in government from Cornell University, an M.A.T. in elementary education from Relay Graduate School of Education, and an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago.