Xiushi Yang, PhD, Director
Phone: (757) 683-3809 / E-mail: xyang@odu.edu
Dr. Yang is the director of the SSRC as well as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. A social demographer, Dr Yang has extensive survey research experience. He received his B.S. in economic geography from Zhejiang University in China in 1982 and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology with a concentration in population studies from Brown University Department of Sociology/Population Studies and Training Center in 1991 and postdoctoral training in population studies at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1991 to1993. His expertise is in social science and behavioral research involving both population-based sampling and special sampling of hard to reach populations, such as drug users, sex workers, and migrants. He is currently serving as a standing member of the Behavioral and Social Science Approaches to Preventing HIV/AIDS Study Section (BSPH) at the National Institutes of Health.
Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, PhD, Associate Director
Phone: (757) 683-3802 / E-mail: Tvandeca@odu.edu
As the Social Science Research Center's associate director, Tancy is responsible for the development, administration, and implementation of research grants and contracts. She works with individual faculty, local and state agencies, and businesses to determine research needs and to provide assistance for applying specific methodologies. Tancy is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Center as well as for supervising the SSRC research assistants and other staff. Previous career experiences include a magistrate position for the 4th Judicial District in the City of Norfolk and a project consultant to measure the attitudes toward domestic violence of Virginia magistrates. She has been with the Center since it opened in 1998.
Tancy was raised in upstate New York and earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. She received her Master of Arts in Applied Sociology with a certificate in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University as well as a PhD in Public Administration and Urban Policy. Tancy currently resides in Virginia Beach with her husband, Corey, and daughter, Josie.
Wendi Wilson-John, Project Coordinator
E-mail: wwilsonj@odu.edu
Wendi is a Project Coordinator for the Social Science Research Center. Her responsibilities have included the day-to-day management of the development of Virginia's Integrated Data System for Early Intervention and overseeing Virginia's General Supervision Enhancement Grant for Part C in conjunction with the University of Kentucky. Wendi's previous career experience includes working for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a Highway Safety Specialist in Washington, DC. She was also employed for the State of Maryland's Governor's Highway Safety Office as a Data Analyst and Evaluation Coordinator.
Wendi earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice in 1997 from Old Dominion University. She earned her Master of Arts in Experimental Psychology in 1999 from Towson University in Towson, MD. Wendi currently resides in Chesapeake with her husband, Bobby and daughter, Josi, and son, Brandon.
