Kim McCombs-Thornton, PhD has over 25 years of experience leading evaluation research projects for early childhood home visiting, early care and education, child welfare, and other public health programs serving children and families. She is the principal investigator for the Parents as Teachers-MIHOPE study and deputy director of the HealthySteps implementation research support project. Dr. McCombs-Thornton also served as principal investigator for a mixed methods evaluation of ZERO TO THREE Safe Babies Court Teams, earning the initiative promising status from the California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. She was previously Research and Evaluation Director for Smart Start, North Carolina’s statewide early childhood system initiative. She has a PhD in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MPP from the University of Chicago.
