SUNWATER - Key Persons
Dr. Harutyunyan is a Scholar at the Sunwater Institute. She conducts research on innovation policy, focusing on the measurements of intellectual property rights and advocating for data-driven public policies. She is also a co-Principal Investigator of a research project investigating the effect of individual decision-making strategies on group decision-making, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Prior to joining the Sunwater Institute, Ani held research positions at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Licos - Center for Institutions and Economic Performance in Brussels, Belgium, and served as a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and Swiss Agency of Development and Cooperation in the South Caucasus, providing data-driven insights on policy implementation in developing economies.
Dr. Harutyunyan holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. Having studied at KU Leuven, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Zurich, her research fields include political economy and development economics, with methodological expertise in mathematical modeling and data analysis.
Holly has over 15 years of experience working with organizations to develop successful development and communications strategies. Holly's history ranges from launching her own consulting business in 2010 to serving as Associate Managing Partner for J.C. Watts Companies, to working as Senior Vice President at DDC Advocacy where she founded the political involvement and fundraising division. She began her career on Capitol Hill and earned her B.A. from Campbell University. She attended graduate school at Regent University.
Holly is an experienced fundraiser and has provided expert interviews and background information for Bloomberg TV, Fox News, National Journal, Bloomberg News, Politico, Washington Post, Washington Times, Roll Call, and The Hill, various radio interviews, and has been a featured speaker for the Public Affairs Council, the National Apartment Association, the National Corn Growers Association and the American Marketing Association.
Dr. Kochanek is a Scholar at the Sunwater Institute. He earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied history and political science, and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University. Dr. Kochanek's work has appeared in History of European Ideas, and he has contributed a chapter to The Intellectual Response to the First World War. He has presented his research at the American Political Science Association and the Midwestern Political Science Association. Dr. Kochanek has taught at Harvard University and the George Washington University, and is currently an adjunct professor at George Mason University.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Investor
- President
- Founder and President of the Sunwater Institute
Matthew Chervenak is an entrepreneur and investor in healthcare, data, real estate, and public policy.
Matthew is founder and President of the Sunwater Institute. He is a founder and General Partner of Sunwater Capital, an investment firm focused on real estate, healthcare, and data in the United States and China and of GBI, a Shanghai-based intelligence company serving the pharmaceutical and medical device industries
Prior to his entrepreneurial and investment activities, Mr. Chervenak worked as a strategy consultant and conducted neuroscience research.
Matthew Chervenak is the President of The Sunwater Institute and responsible for its strategic direction, operations, and output.
Job Titles:
- Policy Analyst
- Policy Analyst at the Sunwater Institute
Nick Harlan is a policy analyst at the Sunwater Institute. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his studies, he traveled abroad to study the vertical integration of China's poultry industry and the stagflation experienced in Brazil's economy. A Peoria native, he served as a congressional intern on Capitol Hill for Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-18) before joining Sunwater.
Robert Gmeiner joined the Sunwater Institute in June 2018. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University and a B.A. in economics and Russian from Wake Forest University. Robert's areas of expertise include public choice, regulatory economics, industrial organization, and time series statistics. His work has been published in the Review of Austrian Economics, Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, and Constitutional Political Economy.