Senior Researcher
Michael Cavanaugh is a senior researcher at L&M. Mr. Cavanaugh is an expert in community based participatory research, ethnography, working with tribal communities, and qualitative research methods. He has conducted hundreds of interviews and focus groups with hard-to-reach populations on a range of sensitive issues, including food security, intergenerational trauma, substance use, mental health, early childhood education, and child welfare.
At L&M, Mr. Cavanaughconducts and analyzes results from cognitive and in-depth interviews, small group discussions, and focus groups. Most recently, he led focus groups to inform CMS outreach and education efforts aimed at preventing Medicare fraud among Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older. Mr. Cavanaugh also led interviews and focus groups to assess user experience and understanding of Medicare.gov webpages, including usability testing for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Compare webpage, Physician Compare webpage, and Hospice Compare webpage.
Prior to joining L&M, Mr. Cavanaugh worked at Mathematica where he led or contributed to more than a dozen qualitative research efforts for both federal and foundation clients. For the Touchpoints for Addressing Substance Use Issues in Home Visiting project and the American Indian and Alaska Native Family Child Experiences Survey (AI/AN FACES), Mr. Cavanaugh regularly engaged Tribal community leaders and program partners. He has contributed to forums, blogs, and articles that focus on culturally responsive research methods. Mr. Cavanaugh has created and facilitated cross-cultural understanding and cultural humility trainings for field staff on multiple studies. Since 2017, he has supported tribal communities in building evidence to prevent child maltreatment and family wellbeing as part of the Children Bureau’s Center for Native Child and Family Resilience Quality Improvement Center where he currently leads evaluation activities for two sites.
Mr. Cavanaugh holds M.A.s in Anthropology and American Indian Studies from Michigan State University and UCLA.