Office of Research

Christy Storey, Director of Operations
- Christy Storey is the Director at the Burruss Institute. She received her B.S. Degree from Georgia College and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Georgia State University. She has been with the Institute since 1990 and is a native of Cobb County, Georgia. She has represented Kennesaw State and the Burruss Institute numerous times as a guest speaker at area civic organization meetings. She has been a member of area community committees including the Cherokee County Children and Youth Action Program, the Cobb County Customer Service Task Force, Neighborhood Cobb, Atlanta's VISION 2020 Transportation Committee and the Resource Development Committee of Cobb Senior Services. Her past experience includes employment at Cobb County Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs and the Transportation Studies Program in the School of Public Administration and Urban Studies at Georgia State University.
  - Phone: (470) 578-6464
  - Email: cstorey@kennesaw.edu
Paul Vaughn, Assistant Director of Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
- Paul Vaughn is an Assistant Director at the Burruss Institute. He is a graduate of Georgia State University where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and an M.S. in Psychological Counseling. Paul has over 20 years of experience in survey research. He joined the Institute staff in 2008.
  - Phone: (470) 578-2577
  - Email: pvaughn2@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Matthew Lyons, Interim Assistant Director for Research and Evaluation
- Dr. Matthew Lyons is an implementation scientist whose work engages communities to address the social determinants of health, with a focus on meeting basic needs to promote health and welfare in vulnerable populations. He conducts research and evaluation on evidence-based programs at both individual and community levels. Dr. Lyons received a BA with a double major in religion and philosophy from Georgia State University, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and an MSW from the University of Southern California. He completed his PhD in Public Health with a concentration in health promotion and behavior at Georgia State University. He has conducted community-based research and service among diverse populations, including veterans, refugees, and persons experiencing homelessness. He has experience with wide a range of research methods, including longitudinal data analysis, multilevel modeling, social and geospatial epidemiology, survey design, structured interviewing, focus groups, and ethnography.
  Email: mlyons30@kennesaw.edu
Ashley Crawford, Research Associate
- Ashley Crawford is a Research Associate at the Burruss Institute. She began working with the Institute as an interviewer and data entry associate in August of 2006. After completing her B.S. in Psychology, with a minor in Criminology, Ashley joined the Institute staff in January 2009.
  - Phone: (470) 578-3683
  - Email: acrawf11@kennesaw.edu
Akilah Hairston, Research Associate
- Akilah Hairston is a Research Associate at the Burruss Institute. She is a graduate of the University of West Georgia where she earned a B.S in sociology, M.A in Sociology, and was inducted into the Honor societies Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Kappa Delta. She began working with the Institute as a research intern in May 2018. After completing her M.A. Akilah joined the Institute staff in July 2019 working on evaluation projects (primarily in substance abuse prevention and education). Some of her tasks on the evaluation team include conducting site visits, conducting data analysis, assisting in the authoring of the formative and summative evaluation reports, and assisting with evaluation planning.
  - Phone: (470) 578-6951
  - Email: ahairst1@kennesaw.edu

Staff