Paul Decker, President and Chief Executive Officer – Mathematica Policy Research (MPR), is a nationally recognized expert in policy research, data analytics, education, and labor policy. Decker received his PhD in economics from Johns Hopkins University in 1988. For three decades, he has been working to improve public well-being through the use of evidence to improve programs and policy. As president and CEO of Mathematica Policy Research, Decker sets the company’s vision and strategy, oversees its operation and management, and shapes its values and standards. During his tenure as CEO, Decker has expanded and diversified the company’s operations and maintained its commitment to rigor and objectivity in new and evolving areas of research and analysis.

Decker is a past president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and has co-chaired the organization’s strategic planning committee and served on the policy council. He writes and speaks regularly on trends in the policy research field, including the emergence of Big Data and its impact on public program evaluation and management. Decker chairs the government relations committee of CEO Connection, and has testified before Congress, served as an expert adviser to both the U.S. and Canadian governments, and published widely in peer-reviewed journals.

Decker also serves as chair of development on the board of advisers of the Thomas Jefferson Public Policy Program at the College of William and Mary, his undergraduate alma mater.