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Capabilities Brochure | PDF
Community Profile Brochure | PDF
CGR at 100: A Remarkable Story | PDF
Our Distinguished History
Founded in 1915, CGR has been delivering expert support to the public, nonprofit and private sectors for a century. Originally, we were incorporated as the Rochester (NY) Bureau of Municipal Research, and were established by founder George Eastman with a mandate to “get things done for the community” we call home. Although our passion for delivering promising solutions has never changed, both the geographic area and clients we serve have broadened dramatically. Today we have a national reach and can be found working with a diverse range of agencies, organizations and communities.
Why Nonprofit?
In an arena served almost exclusively by for-profit consultancies, CGR stands apart. Since our founding, we have operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a status that insulates us from political bias and holds us accountable to our clients’ true shareholders – the communities they serve – positioning them as more desirable places to live and work.
Just like our clients, we’re in the business of making a difference.
Dr. Donna M. Harris
Associate Principal / Chief Diversity Officer
Dr. Harris has spent the last 18 years using her policy analysis background, disciplinary training in education, and evaluation expertise to examine the implementation and impact of social programs in order to influence institutional change. Her research portfolio includes studies examining national school reform efforts in K-12 settings and racial disparities in educational outcomes.
Dr. Harris’ research contributions in Rochester include a community-based study that examined the experiences of Latina/o secondary students in local schools. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals and edited books and she is the co-author of the Plight of Invisibility: A Community-Based Approach to Understanding the Educational Experiences of Urban Latina/os published by Peter Lang. This text examines the inequities confronted by Latina/o families as they negotiated Rochester schools.
At CGR, Dr. Harris contributes to project focusing on education, public safety, early child care, and organizational change. She leads evaluations of the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School and the Children First Scholarship program in Buffalo, New York.
Prior to joining CGR, Dr. Harris worked in a variety of research think tanks, higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations. She has been consultant research analyst for Latino Affairs and Bilingual Education at the Rochester City School District (RCSD); a faculty member at the University of Rochester, Wellesley College, and Lawrence University; a researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania; and a postdoctoral fellow at the RAND Corporation in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Latino Education Task Force and an advisory board member for Teen Empowerment.
Dr. Harris received her Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.A. in sociology and education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and B.A. in sociology from Wesleyan University.
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