ANNENBERG - Key Persons

Aizat Nurshatayeva

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Senior Research Associate

Aizat Nurshatayeva is a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute. She is an educational economist studying education both in the United States and internationally. Her research examines how educational policies may help students access and thrive in higher education through the theoretically informed application of rigorous methodologies to large-scale and institutional data. Prior to her current role, Aizat was an assistant professor of research methods at Suleyman Demirel University. She holds a PhD in administrative and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

Alexander Lyte

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Grant and Finance Specialist

Alexander Lyte is the Grant & Finance Specialist at the Annenberg Institute at Brown. Prior to joining the Annenberg Institute, Alexander was the Community Development Manager at the City of Central Falls and an Accounts Receivable Associate at the Massachusetts Convention Central Authority.

Andrea Flores

an..@brown.edu

Andrea Flores, Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professor of Education, is a cultural anthropologist who specializes in the anthropology of education. Her research interests primarily center on Latino/a youth's higher educational aspirations and experiences of social belonging.

Ann Mantil

Job Titles:

Senior Research Associate

Ann Mantil is a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute and a member of the Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts project team. Her research interests include charter schools, desegregation and school choice programs, and the evaluation of educational interventions designed to close achievement gaps. She worked for nine years as a charter school teacher and administrator in Oakland and Washington, DC. She holds an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs and an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Arielle Boguslav

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Senior Research Associate

Arielle Boguslav is a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University where she designs and conducts research on teacher professional learning with the Research Partnership for Professional Learning. Arielle's research focuses on the design, implementation, and effects of teacher preparation and professional learning programming and experiences. Prior to joining Annenberg, Arielle completed her PhD in Education Policy at the University of Virginia. As part of her dissertation work, she developed and tested a taxonomy of "coaching moves," providing coherent and concrete language for describing the nuances of coaches' interactions with teachers. Arielle also holds an MPP from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and a BA in Archeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge. Arielle initially worked in innovation consulting before shifting to the field of education. Her six years of teaching experience include middle school English Language Arts in a Title I school and teaching English as a foreign language to adults in Russia.

Aubrey McDonough

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager

Aubrey McDonough is a Research Project Manager at the Annenberg Institute, where she works with Professor John Papay. Her current work focuses on the effects of standardized assessment policies on students' long-term outcomes in the state of Massachusetts. Her research interests include educational equity and causal inference methods. She holds an M.P.A. '18 from Brown University, and she also graduated from Brown in 2017 with a B.A. in International Relations. Prior to joining Annenberg, she was a Research Associate at the Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame, where she focused on poverty alleviation.

Bianca J. Baldridge

Job Titles:

Associate Professor

Bianca J. Baldridge is an associate professor of education with expertise in community-based education and critical youth work practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As a sociologist of education, Baldridge's research explores the sociopolitical context of community-based youth work and critically examines the confluence of race, class, and gender and their impact on educational reforms that shape community-based spaces engaging Black and Latinx youth. In addition, she explores the organizational and pedagogical practices employed by youth workers amid educational reforms and restructuring. Baldridge's book, Reclaiming Community: Race and the Uncertain Future of Youth Work (Stanford University Press), examines how racialized market-based reforms undermine Black community-based organizations' efforts to support comprehensive youth development opportunities. Her book received the 2019 American Educational Studies Association Critic's Choice Book Award. With the support of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship program, Baldridge studied how racial disparity discourse shapes community-based spaces that engage Black youth in predominantly white cities that espouse a liberal and progressive ethos. Her current research examines 1) broader issues of equity facing the out-of-school time (OST) sector nationally, 2) the precarity of the youth work profession and how Black youth workers navigate anti-Blackness, and 3) how Black community-based youth organizations respond to city change and displacement fueled by gentrification, educational restructuring, and displacement. Some of Baldridge's research appears in American Educational Research Journal, Review of Research in Education, Teachers College Record, Educational Researcher, and Race, Ethnicity, and Education. In addition, Baldridge's experiences as a youth work professional in US cities and abroad continue to inform her research in profound ways. With a deep commitment to engaged research and disrupting oppressive youth development spaces, Baldridge works with several OST networks and facilitates ‘communities of practice' with organizational leaders and youth development professionals across the country to sustain justice-oriented and humanizing youth work practices.

Bila Djamaoeddin

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Associate

Bila Djamaoeddin is a Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute where she is on the Local Impact Team. Prior to this role, she was an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the National Student Support Accelerator at the Annenberg Institute where she was on the Quality and Improvement Team. Her research interests include educational equity, the economics of education, and policy analysis. Bila holds a B.A. in Economics and B.A. in Education Studies from Brown University.

Brenda Santos

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Director

Brenda Santos leads the Annenberg Institute's research-practice partnerships with Rhode Island school districts. Before coming to Brown, Brenda was Vice President of Teaching and Learning at Achievement First. She began her work in education as a high school social studies teacher in the Bronx, NY, and later was a teacher and assistant principal in New Haven, CT. Most recently, Brenda facilitated multi-generational community research teams that developed community-derived equity indicators in Providence and Newport, RI. Brenda has also taught history at the undergraduate level and served as a clinical supervisor for pre-service teachers. Brenda's research has focused on the instructional practices of culturally responsive and sustaining teachers in the high school disciplines and on practitioner inquiry models of professional teacher learning. Brenda holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Rhode Island, master's degrees in History from Yale University and in Social Studies Education from New York University, and a bachelor's degree in Social Thought and Political Economy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Brendon Krall

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager

Brendon is a Research Project Manager at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where he assists the Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL). Prior to joining Annenberg, Brendon worked as a research assistant for Dr. Stephen Raudenbush, at the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab, and at the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) group primarily focusing on program evaluation for education-related projects. In addition to his research experience, Brendon is a 2018 Teach For America corps member, where he worked as an 8th-grade English teacher and community organizer in Houston, TX. Specifically, Brendon supported community organizing initiatives that advocated for improved school services for immigrant students and families and created an educator resource guide that school staff could use to better support this subpopulation. As a first-generation college graduate, Brendon knows the powerful role that education has in shaping an individual's personal and professional trajectory and has committed himself to creating more equitable and efficient education systems so all students have the possibility to reach their fullest potential. Brendon holds a B.A. in Business Administration, a B.A. in Public Health from the University of Washington, and a Master in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Carolyn Fagan

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager

Carolyn Fagan is a Research Project Manager at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University where she studies teacher professional learning. Prior to joining Annenberg, she was an English Language Arts teacher and Instructional Coach. She holds an M.A. in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from Boston College, and a B.A. in English and Theater from University of New Hampshire.

Cassia Caruth

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Associate

Cassia Caruth is a Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute. As a part of the Rhode Island Local Impact Team, her work focuses on initiatives to support curriculum-based professional learning and newcomer immigrant students. Her research interests include academic motivation, teacher turnover, and family, school, and community partnerships. Prior to joining Annenberg, she worked as a Research Assistant at Making Caring Common, where she evaluated strategies to foster children's moral and ethical development through parental support. She holds a B.A. in Linguistics from Duke University and an Ed.M. in Human Development and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Catherine Mata

Job Titles:

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Catherine Mata is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Her primary field of work is applied microeconomics, including economic development, economics of education, and labor markets. Her research includes the evaluation of public policies that aim to address economic inequalities, with special emphasis on those that improve the educational and work conditions of historically disadvantaged populations. Catherine holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a specialization in Economics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received a M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis from UMBC, and a Licenciatura degree and B.S. in Economics from the University of Costa Rica. Prior to her graduate studies, she was a researcher at the Economics Research Institute of the University of Costa Rica. She has served as an advisor for the Costa Rican government and as a research consultant to international organizations and think tanks.

Christina Claiborne

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Director of the Research to Practice Network
Director, Research to Practice Network, EdResearch for Recovery

Christina is the Director of the Research to Practice Network for the EdResearch for Recovery Project, where she leads a network of school districts working to implement evidence-based programs and engage in continuous improvement. Prior to joining Annenberg, she was the Assistant Director of Academics in the Education Department at Brown University. In this role, she led classes on the applications of quantitative skills and created customized curriculum for a diverse group of learners to ensure masters' students graduated as informed consumers of research. She also facilitated master's students' internships and formed service-learning partnerships between students and education organizations. Christina came to Brown after four years of teaching high school mathematics in Central Falls, RI. Christina is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was previously an Adjunct Lecturer in Education at Brown University. Christina holds a master's degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University and a bachelor's. in Economics and minor in Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley.

Curran Mahowald

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager
Research Project Manager for the Annenberg Exchange

Curran is a research project manager for the Annenberg Exchange, with a focus on developing EdInstruments and EdWorking Papers. She works to strengthen existing processes and explore opportunities for improvement, especially in audience expansion and user experience. Prior to joining Annenberg, Curran worked as a research assistant at Teachers College, Columbia University, partnering with faculty to scale up an early literacy-focused professional development program. Curran's experience as a high school English and French teacher through The New Teacher Project has inspired her research interests in language development, evidence-based instructional practices for equitable outcomes, and teacher preparation and professional development. Curran holds an M.A. in Cognitive Science in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and B.A.s in Linguistics and French from the University of Southern California.

Danielle Edwards

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University

Danielle Edwards was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Her research is concerned with the problem that where students live can determine what educational opportunities they have and the potential for policy to alleviate these geographic inequities in access to effective schools and teachers. To date, her work has centered on two areas of K-12 education policy: teacher labor markets and school choice. She primarily uses individual-level panel data and econometric methods to describe relationships and estimate causal effects. Danielle holds a Ph.D. in education policy with a specialization in economics of education from Michigan State University. She received a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in history from Stetson University. Prior to her doctoral studies, Danielle taught high school in New Orleans.

David Rangel

da..@brown.edu

As a sociologist of education, David Rangel studies the relationship between education and social inequality, with emphasis on the Latinx experience in the United States. In particular, his research examines family-school relations, focusing on how social class, race, ethnicity, and the broader social context structure relations within families, between families, and between families and schools. His work documents Latinx parents' experiences in school settings to understand if, how, and to what extent Latinx parents pass on educational advantages to their children. His most recent work has appeared in various outlets, including the American Educational Research Journal, Sociological Perspectives, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and Social Science and Medicine - Population Health.

Diana Canales

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Institute Coordinator

Diana is the Institute Coordinator at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Prior to joining Annenberg, Diana supported fundraising and daily operations at Providence Student Union, a local non-profit helping students advocate for equitable education policy and safe schools in the city of Providence. Diana holds a B.A. in Sociology from Providence College, where her research and work focused on education and helping low-income first-generation students access higher education.

Domingo Morel

do..@rutgers.edu

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University

Domingo Morel is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, Newark. He is also an affiliate member of Global Urban Studies and the Center on Law, Inequality, and Metropolitan Equity at Rutgers Newark. His research program and teaching portfolio focus on racial and ethnic politics, urban politics, education politics and public policy. Specifically, his research explores the ways state policies help expand or diminish political inequality among historically marginalized populations. Dr. Morel's current research examines how the increasing presence of state governments in urban affairs after the 1960s has affected Black and Latino political empowerment in U.S. cities. His book, Takeover: Race, Education, and American Democracy (Oxford University Press) examines the political implications of state takeovers of local school districts for communities of color. His other book, Latino Mayors: Power and Political Change in the Postindustrial City (co-edited with Marion Orr, Temple University Press), examines the rise of Latino mayors in the U.S. In addition to his scholarship, Dr. Morel has years of applied experience in political affairs and public policy. He is co-founder of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University and past president of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Brown University in 2014.

Dr. Jin Li

Job Titles:

Professor of Education

Dr. Jin Li is Professor of Education and Human Development at Brown University. Originally from China, she received her B.A. in German from Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages in 1982. She earned her first Ed.M. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988, her second Ed.M. in Administrative Planning and Social Policy in 1991, and her doctoral degree in human development and psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1997. Dr. Li's research focuses on East Asian virtue-oriented and Western mind-oriented learning models and how these models shape children's learning beliefs and achievement. She has studied children and families from Chinese, Taiwanese, Chinese American, European American, and other cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The age groups range from early childhood, middle-childhood and adolescence to college students. Her research has been published in leading professional journals. She has delivered talks in a dozen different countries. Her 2012 book Cultural Foundations of Learning: East and West synthesizes related research over the past decades and offers new perspectives on the indispensable role of culture in human learning. Dr. Li was one of the six inaugural Fellows selected by the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Center 2015-16 and at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University and at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, China, 2016-17. She was a Guest Lecturer at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, China 2016-2018.

Emily Handsman

Job Titles:

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Emily Handsman is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. A trained sociologist, she uses theories of organizations, inequality, politics, and culture to answer questions about how school districts conceptualize and respond to inequality. Her current research uses qualitative methods to analyze how suburban school districts construct and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Emily holds a Ph.D. in sociology, with a certificate in education sciences, from Northwestern University, and a BA in English from Barnard College. Prior to her graduate studies, she taught 3rd and 4th graders in Detroit, and worked as a curriculum writer.

Emily Kalejs Qazilbash

Job Titles:

Professor of Practice of Education at Brown University

Emily Kalejs Qazilbash is a Professor of Practice of Education at Brown University. She most recently served as the Chief Human Capital Officer in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) where she led recruitment, hiring and performance management initiatives that enabled BPS to have an effective teacher in every classroom and an effective leader in every school. After beginning her career as a teacher in Baltimore and Boston, Emily conducted research focused on issues of teacher quality and has worked with a variety of non-profits and government agencies on issues such as educator evaluation, teachers unions, school reform efforts, and Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) programs. Emily earned her masters and doctoral degrees in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds a B.A. in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia.

Emily Rauscher

em..@brown.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at Brown University

Emily Rauscher is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at Brown University. Her research seeks to understand intergenerational inequality with a focus on education and health. She uses quantitative methods and causal inference techniques to investigate these areas and to identify policies that could increase equality of opportunity. She received her BA from Wesleyan University, Master's degrees from USC and Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD in Sociology from New York University.

Emma Zorfass

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager

Emma Zorfass is a Research Project Manager at the Annenberg Institute, where she works with Professor John Papay. Her current work focuses on the effects of standardized assessment policies on students' long-term outcomes in the state of Massachusetts. Her research interests include the economics of education and the transition from high school to higher education. She holds an M.A. in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a B.A. in Public Policy. Prior to joining Annenberg, she was a Research Assistant at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Teachers College.

Eric Taylor

er..@gse.harvard.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Eric Taylor is an associate professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Eric studies the economics of education, with a particular interest in employer-employee interactions between schools and teachers-hiring and firing decisions, job design, training, performance evaluation, compensation. His work has been published in the American Economic Review, Journal of Human Resources,Journal of Labor Economics, and Journal of Public Economics; and featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Education Week. Eric was a Spencer Dissertation Fellow in 2014, and was recognized for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring by the Stanford GSE in 2013.

Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Associate

Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez is a Research Associate in the Annenberg Institute, where she works with Nathaniel Schwartz in assessing projects throughout the institute's local partnerships. Her research interests include school funding policy and pathways to the workforce for marginalized students. She holds a Bachelor's of Science in Economics with a minor in Data Science from Northeastern University. Prior to Annenberg, she was an intern at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and a data management assistant at the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. She was recently awarded a U.S. Fulbright research grant to Chile, where she studied school choice and educational governance centralization.

Greer Mellon

Job Titles:

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Urban Education Policy ( UEP ) Fellows

Greer Mellon is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where she is also affiliated with the Population Studies and Training Center. She is a sociologist who studies how educational organizations contribute to social inequalities. Her current research examines how the characteristics of superintendents and school board members contribute to variation in educational policymaking, and lead to differences in student achievement. She primarily uses quantitative research methods and works with both administrative data and experimental data sources. Greer received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Columbia University, an M.A. in Statistics from Columbia University, an M.Phil. in International Development Studies from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. in History from Columbia University. Before beginning her doctoral research, Greer worked in nonprofit and federal government research, and worked in research positions for the Digital Harbor Foundation, Legal Services Corporation, and Benenson Strategy Group.

Haddie Lary

Currently, Haddie is a full-time graduate student in Brown University's Urban Education Policy program. She is interning at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and will be focusing on high-impact tutoring with Brown Tutoring Corps. Haddie is interested in the continued research on the outcomes of high-impact tutoring being implemented in the Providence Public School District.

Hannah Kistler

Job Titles:

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Hannah Kistler is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. She uses quantitative methods to answer research questions about how best to improve teacher quality, recruitment and retention, particularly in low-income schools. Hannah's research interests are motivated by her experiences as a researcher and a teacher. Prior to her graduate studies, Hannah worked as a Research Analyst in the Center for Education Policy at SRI Education in Arlington, VA. In that role, she supported data collection and analysis on projects related to beginning teacher induction and teacher professional development. Before working at SRI, she worked as a middle school math teacher and instructional specialist in Indianapolis, Indiana. She holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Vanderbilt University as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching from Marian University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Smith College.

Heather C. Hill

Heather C. Hill studies policies and programs designed to improve mathematics teacher and teaching quality. Her recent research focuses on: teacher professional development, instructional coaching, teacher evaluation, changes over time in teachers' mathematical knowledge and instructional quality in mathematics, and the teacher experiences and characteristics that lead to high-quality instruction and stronger student outcomes. Hill and her team have developed assessments that capture teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and teachers' mathematical quality of instruction, assessments now widely available to researchers, instructional coaches, evaluators, and policy-makers via online training and administrative systems. Hill is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and serves on the AERA grants board, on the editorial boards of several journals, and as an advisor to numerous research projects and policy efforts in both the U.S. and abroad. She is co-author of Learning Policy: When State Education Reform Works with David K. Cohen (Yale Press, 2001).

Ian Ferguson

Job Titles:

Associate
Core Staff Member
Research Program Associate

Ian Ferguson is a Research Program Associate at the Annenberg Institute and a member of the Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts project team. His research interests include Teacher Preparation for Exceptional Learners, disparities in educational opportunities for Students with Disabilities, and policies related to English Learners with disabilities. He holds an Ed.M. in Education Policy and Analysis from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an Ed.M. in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University. While at HGSE, Ian contributed to research aimed at developing teachers' instructional practices to support equitable academic discussion. His interest in education research is driven by the years he served as a Middle School Special Education Science Teacher in New Jersey.

Isabel Fitzpatrick

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Project Manager - Exchange Networks and Engagement
Research Project Manager for the Annenberg Exchange

Isabel is a research project manager for the Annenberg Exchange, with a focus on developing networks and engagement. Before joining Annenberg, Isabel collaborated with the Immigration Initiative at Harvard, contributing to a repository of resources bridging research on immigration's impact on education with practical applications. Additionally, she received a Fulbright grant for teaching and research in Spain, igniting her passion for cognitive development, learning science, multilingual and multicultural education, and teacher professional development. Upon returning to the U.S., Isabel served as the research manager in the Cognitive Neuroscience Group at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Here, she utilized electrophysiological and behavioral methods to enhance our understanding of how children with language and learning disorders acquire new information, aiming to equip educators with evidence-based strategies for diverse learners. Her work is underpinned by a dedication to fostering an equitable education system that caters to the needs of each student. Isabel holds an Ed.M. in Human Development and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, along with B.A.'s in Psychology and Spanish from the College of the Holy Cross.

James H. Wyckoff

Jim Wyckoff is the Curry Memorial Professor of Education and Policy, and Director of the Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness at the University of Virginia. He has published widely on issues of teacher labor markets, teacher preparation, recruitment, assessment and retention. In this work he has collaborated with policymakers in New York City, New York State and most recently the District of Columbia. Currently, he is examining how teacher assessment and evaluation systems influence the quality of teaching, especially in traditionally low performing classrooms. He is a member of the editorial board of Education Finance and Policy. He has served on four National Research Council panels examining issues in teacher preparation, and the school lunch program, was the president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, and served on the Policy Council for the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

James LoPresti

Job Titles:

Core Staff Member
Research Program Associate

James LoPresti is a Research Program Associate at Annenberg Institute on the Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts team. Prior to joining Annenberg, James worked in Washington, DC as a special education teacher with middle school students in English language arts and math classes. He also works as an executive functions coach with middle and high school students. His research interests include educational inequality, program evaluation, policy implementation, and participatory research methods. He holds an EdM in Education Policy and Analysis from Harvard Graduate School of Education, an MS in Educational Studies from Johns Hopkins University, and an AB in Philosophy from Princeton University.

Jessalynn James

Job Titles:

Analytics Director at TNTP

Jessalynn James is an analytics director at TNTP, and was most recently a post-doctoral research associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. Building on prior experience in the research, policy, and measurement fields, her research uses a mix of causal and descriptive techniques to evaluate policies that help identify and enhance teaching quality (e.g., through evaluation, recruitment, training, and retention), as well as the implications of education policy and practice for ameliorating academic disparities. Her research has been published in Education Finance and Policy, the American Educational Research Journal, and AERA Open.

Jesse Bruhn

Job Titles:

Member of the Faculty Leadership Team
Assistant Professor of Education and Assistant Professor of Economics

I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University and an affiliate of the Annenberg Institute. Prior to joining the economics department at Brown, I spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow in the Industrial Relations Section at Princeton University. In 2019, I received my Ph.D. from Boston University. Prior to my life as an economist, I spent four years on active duty in the United States Army and one year as a Mathematics Educator in the Springfield, MA, public school system.

Jessica Wagner

Job Titles:

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Jessica Wagner was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. She is an applied microeconomist working in the fields of public and labor economics, with a focus on the economics of education. Her research examines factors that influence human capital formation and equitable access to education, including criminal justice policies, schooling options, and education delivery practices. Jessica holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Toronto. Prior to her graduate studies, she was a Senior Research Specialist in the Industrial Relations Section at Princeton University.

Jing Liu

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor

Jing Liu is an Assistant Professor in Education Policy at the University of Maryland College Park. Named as a National Academy of Education Sciences/Spencer Dissertation Fellow, he earned my Ph.D. in Economics of Education from Stanford University in 2018. Before joing UMD, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brown University's Annenberg Institute. Jing's research uses rigorous quantitative evidence to evaluate and inform education policies at the national, state, and local levels, with the goal of improving learning opportunities for historically marginalized students in urban areas. His work broadly engages with critical policy issues including student absenteeism, exclusionary discipline, educator's labor market, school reform, and higher education. Grounded in economic theory and policy analysis, he uses both quasi-experimental designs and data science methods such as computational linguistic analysis to analyze large administrative data and unstructured information. Most of his current projects focus on understanding the development of student engagement, behavior, and social emotional skills, how these skills and dispositions contribute to student success in the short and long run, and what the implications are for improving equal educational opportunities.