Joe Adams is a research analyst, evaluator, and good government advocate. He teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and works at the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. This project evolved from earlier studies on dropouts, one in Mobile and a second in Montgomery, Alabama, and a statewide study done for the Military Child Education Coalition that included behavioral indicators. He recently examined discipline in the context of Teach for America teachers and their teaching peers. He has been working on educational issues in Alabama for the past 17 years. In 2012, at the request of the Governor's Office, he wrote the seminal report on the impact of Alabama's First Class Pre-K, indicating that benefits extended to students in grades 3 to 6. He continued working with other researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama on longitudinal analyses of First Class Pre-K students cohorts, producing a peer-reviewed publication in 2020, corroborating his earlier findings. Joe has taught 70 college courses in public policy, political theory, program evaluation, and ethics in public administration. He also has experience in government research, analysis, and planning, including eight years in state government for three different agencies, including working for legislatures in two states. He often advocates for more transparency and effective institutional controls. He holds a B.A. from Texas A&M University (political science and history) and a Ph.D. (political science) from Vanderbilt University.