As a senior researcher at McREL, Crystal is currently working on multiple Early Reading First projects, as well as projects evaluating teacher training and evaluation programs. Prior to joining McREL, Crystal was a research assistant and taught developmental psychology at the University of Louisville, where her work in the Early Intervention for Families Lab in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences focused on preschoolers' cognitive, social, and emotional school readiness skills. Crystal earned her doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Louisville.