Kelly Bidwell is the Director of Learning and Evaluation at the New Practice Lab. Bidwell has extensive experience building rigorous evidence to improve programs and policies at the international, federal, state, and local level. Bidwell builds innovative partnerships across researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with a focus on using evidence and data to better serve the public.
Bidwell served as the Director of the Office of Evaluation Sciences at the US General Services Administration from 2016-2025. Bidwell led efforts across the federal government to build and use evidence to better serve the public - completing over 150 evaluations on key policy priorities. She served as GSA' first Evaluation Officer and Statistical Official, and was a founding member of the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team and the Office of Evaluation Sciences where she joined as a Fellow in 2013.
Prior to joining the US federal government, Bidwell led large-scale evidence building efforts at Innovations for Poverty Action and the Jameel Abdul Latif Poverty Action Lab. She holds a MA in International Affairs from Columbia University, where she focused on economic development, education, and evaluation methods. Bidwell lives in Maine and is a mom of three.