Rikki has more than 24 years of experience in research and communications on domestic and international topics, particularly those related to health. She is a skilled qualitative researcher with experience in designing, implementing, and analyzing formative and evaluative research, cognitive testing, and usability studies. As a senior researcher at Westat Insight, she has worked with clients such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s Innovation Center (CMMI), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, the U.S. Department of Education, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

For CMMI, Rikki is leading the Westat Insight team’s mixed-methods evaluation of the Integrated Care for Kids Model, a child-centered local service delivery and state payment model that aims to reduce expenditures and improve the quality of care for children under 21 covered by Medicaid through prevention, early identification, and treatment of behavioral and physical health needs. For HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau evaluation of the Autism CARES portfolio, she is managing the evaluation of the State Innovations in Care program and the State Public Health Coordinating Center for Autism.

Earlier, Rikki was a researcher and communications specialist at ICF International (formerly Macro International), where she managed or supported projects for the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the Agency for International Development, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Rikki holds an M.A. in international communications from American University.