Elizabeth Winchester, PhD
Assistant Professor of Research
Contact
eatkins@lsu.edu
225-578-3425
Education
Bachelor's Degree: Family, Child, and Consumer Sciences, LSU, 1993
Master's Degree: Family Science (Family Policy), LSU, 1995
PhD: Family Science (Family Policy), LSU, 1998
Dr. Elizabeth Winchester is an Assistant Professor of Research at the LSU Social Research & Evaluation Center and holds an appointment in the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education. For more than 25 years, she has designed and led applied evaluations for state agencies, courts, and community partners in criminal justice, behavioral health, child abuse prevention, youth development, and workforce development. She is the Principal Investigator of Louisiana's statewide DWI Court evaluation and directs evaluations for the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund and the Louisiana Youth for Excellence programs. Her violence prevention work with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office includes annual homicide reviews and research on evidence-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
Program Evaluation
Fidelity Assessment
Data System Design
Mixed Methods Analysis
Program Technical Assistance
Auditing DWI Courts in Louisiana to Improve Effectiveness
Louisiana Highway Safety Commission | Principal Investigator | 2025–2026 | $250,000
Dr. Winchester leads a statewide fidelity evaluation of Louisiana’s DWI Courts, assessing
each court’s alignment with national best practice standards and providing technical
assistance.
NSF Engines: Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL)
National Science Foundation | Evaluation Team | 2024–Present | $160 million
Dr. Winchester helps lead the evaluation of FUEL’s workforce development partnerships,
including the design and collection of performance measures and grantee reporting
systems.
Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund Evaluation
Governor’s Office of Louisiana | Evaluator | 2016–Present
Dr. Winchester leads evaluation, data collection, and evaluation capacity building
for child abuse and neglect prevention programs funded across Louisiana.
Little, K. G., Winchester, E., & Rhodes, J. (2025). Blueprint for a youth violence intervention in East Baton Rouge Parish: Adapting hospital-based strategies. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, Social Research & Evaluation Center.
Little, K., Robison, S., Winchester, E., & Tillison, A. (2025). Louisiana Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Success (LaPFS) III: Year 1 evaluation report. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, Social Research & Evaluation Center.
Winchester, E. (2023, March 28). When evaluation doesn’t mean evaluation. AEA365: University-Based Centers TIG Week. American Evaluation Association.
Rizzuto, T., Mitchell, T., Jackson, C., & Winchester, E. (2022). A field study of racial bias in policing: Implications for organizational sciences. Journal of Business and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09809-z
Winchester, E. A., Reling, T. T., Little, K., Cupit, L. B., Fields, M., & Rhodes, J. L. F. (2022). What is working to reduce violent crime? Evidence-based solutions. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, Social Research & Evaluation Center
Robison, S., Mason, S., Blackmon, B., & Winchester, E. Implementing and adapting evaluations in complex, shifting environments. American Evaluation Association Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO. November 2025.
Winchester, E., Smith, J., & Tran, Q. Strategies for improving evaluation and data collection while working collaboratively with community partners. Poster, American Evaluation Association Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO. November 2025.
Reling, T., Winchester, E., & Vehock, R. Revision and revalidation of the Targeted Intervention Gaining Enhanced Reentry (TIGER) needs assessment. American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA. 2022.
Winchester, E., Rizzuto, T., & Richardson, G. The use of data to enhance opioid cases. Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program National Forum, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Washington, DC. 2020.
Rizzuto, T., Mitchell, T., & Winchester, E. Using social network analysis to detect leadership emergence in drug markets. Sunbelt Conference of the International Network for Social Network Analysis, Montreal, Canada. June 2019.
Dr. Winchester is an enthusiastic genealogist who loves tracing her family's Acadian roots. When she is not tracking down ancestors, she is usually hosting family gatherings or planning her next trip with family.