Directory | Youth Policy Lab

Showing 1 - 30 of 42 results

Catherine Asher

Assistant Research Scientist

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Catherine Armstrong Asher is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Youth Policy Lab at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Her research, at the intersection of experimental design, quantitative methods, and education,…

Stacey Brockman

Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Wayne State University

Stacey L. Brockman, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Wayne State University. Dr. Brockman spent a significant portion of her career as a high school teacher, teacher educator, and intervention…

Milagros Chocce

Project Manager

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Milagros holds a master of public policy degree from the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru. Prior to joining the Youth…

Sarah Cohodes

Associate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

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Sarah Cohodes is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University. She is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of…

Dipita Das

Policy Fellow - MDHHS Maternal Infant Health Program

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Dipita Das (she/her), born in Bangladesh and raised in Detroit, is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies and a Master’s in Higher Education. Committed to dismantling barriers for marginalized…

Anna Erickson

Senior Project Manager

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Anna Hart Erickson is a senior project manager for the Youth Policy Lab, focusing on education and early childhood research. Prior to joining the Lab, Anna taught high school social studies and was an account manager for a marketing firm. She holds…

Megan Foster Friedman

Managing Director

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Megan Foster Friedman is the Managing Director of the Youth Policy Lab. In this role, Megan provides global project oversight, manages YPL’s internal operations and systems, and provides day-to-day leadership and staff supervision. Megan joined YPL…

Chelsea Giller

Research Assistant

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Chelsea Giller is a second year dual degree MPP/MBA student. Prior to graduate school, Chelsea worked in strategy, operations and legal project management for curriculum provider Cengage Group. She is passionate about working at the intersection of…

Carrie Hammerman

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Carrie Hammerman joined the Youth Policy Lab in 2024 as its new Director of Strategic Partnerships. In this role, she seeks to increase YPL’s visibility and policy impact while ensuring funding sustainability to support ongoing research and project…

Justin Heinze

Associate Professor, Health Behavior and Health Equity
Associate Professor, Combined Program in Education and Psychology

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Dr. Heinze's research investigates how schools influence disparities in violence and other risk outcomes from an ecological perspective that includes individual, interpersonal, and contextual influences on development. He is particularly interested…

Sara Heller

Assistant Professor of Economics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research

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Sara Heller is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Michigan and studies interventions to reduce crime and improve other life outcomes among disadvantaged youth. She uses large-scale experiments to isolate the causal effects of a…

Kenneth Hofmeister

Research Assistant

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Kenny Hofmeister is a PhD student in Economics at the University of Michigan. His research interests span the economics of education, labor economics, industrial organization, and econometrics. Prior to starting at Michigan, he worked as a research…

Deb Hubbard

Project Manager

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Deb has a BS in Computer Science from MSU and a MA in Education Studies from UM with certification in secondary education math. She has an interest in work that improves the educational experience of young people, particularly in middle school math.…

Brian Jacob

Faculty Co-Director & Founder

Brian A. Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and professor of economics at the Ford School, and is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Brian came…

Robin T. Jacob

Faculty Co-Director & Founder

Robin Jacob is a Research Professor at the Survey Research Center at Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and a faculty Co-Director of the Youth Policy Lab. She has 15 years of experience conducting randomized trials and…

Megan Jagolinzer

Policy Fellow - Detroit Public Schools Community District

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Megan is a youth development professional with a passion for supporting adolescent mental health. Megan has used evidence-based therapeutic and conflict resolution practices to engage with K-12 youth across multiple roles, including as an AmeriCorps…

Zaiyi Jiang

Project Manager

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Zaiyi holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School and an MA in International Journalism and Communication from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. During her time in the States before joining the lab, she had been actively…

Triana Kazaleh Sirdenis

she/her, Project Manager, Sr.

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A seasoned researcher and organizer, Triana’s expertise is grounded in collaborative program design, participatory research, evaluation, structural public health practice, group processes, and health communication.Triana spent five years working with…

Stephanie Leiser

Lecturer in Public Policy

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Stephanie Leiser is a lecturer at the Ford School and leads the Michigan Local Government Fiscal Health Project at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). Her general area of interest is in public finance, budgeting, and financial…

Annelise Loveless

Research Assistant

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Annelise Loveless is a first year MPP student at the Ford School. Prior to graduate school, she worked at the Urban Institute, where she used mixed methods to evaluate the impact and implementation of child welfare programs across the country. She is…

Aklesia Maereg

Research Assistant

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Aklesia Maereg (she/they) grew up all around the suburbs of Northern Virginia and graduated with their degree in Public Policy and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Post-graduation, they worked at a policy…

Lynn Meissner

Project Manager

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Lynn Meissner is a project manager at the Youth Policy Lab. She has a doctorate in Human Development and Social Policy from the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University and a BA in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz. Her research…

Shiyu Nitsos

Administrative Assistant, Sr.

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Shiyu Nitsos joined the Youth Policy Lab in September of 2021. Before YPL, she provided extensive administrative support for the Graduate Career Service & Alumni Relations Office at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Shiyu grew up in China…

Andrew Olson

Research Assistant

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Andrew Olson is a forth-year undergraduate student here at the University of Michigan. He is a Political Science and International Studies Major, with a minor in Urban Studies. Andrew finds academic and career interest in health equity and health…

Sophie Ordway

Policy Fellow - Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

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Sophie is a Data & Policy Fellow for the Youth Policy Lab. She holds a MSW with a focus on Policy and Program Evaluation from the University of Michigan and a BA in English and Women’s Studies from Marist College. Prior to joining YPL, Sophie was a…

Dimitri Przeslawski

Policy Fellow, Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP)

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Dimitri joined the Youth Policy Lab as a Data Policy Fellow in July 2024. He is embedded in the Office of Sixty by 30 (60x30) located within the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), focused on advancing…

Fahmida Rahman

Research Assistant

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Fahmida Rahman is a second-year undergraduate student here at the University of Michigan. She is pursuing a major in Political Science and Economics with a minor in Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (QMSS). Fahmida’s passions lie in exploring…

Elizabeth Reosti

Data Team Manager

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Liz comes to YPL with 7 years of experience working in the California Department of Public Health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Sociology. At YPL, she is responsible for overseeing our data…

Michael Ricks

Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Michael is an applied public economist working as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. His research applies theory and econometrics to analyze the welfare implications of government programs, including…

Katja Robinson

Project Manager

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Katja is an experienced researcher in the field of Early Childhood Education with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. She is skilled in lecturing, data collection, proposal writing, and data analysis. Her scholarly…