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Rhea Acuña
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Westland, Michigan
University of Michigan (2008), BA in Economics
Carnegie Mellon University (2014), MS in Public Policy & Management
Rhea's research interest emerged from past work experiences with people- and place-based strategies in poverty alleviation. She aims to further explore this dichotomy and research how interactions between people and place shape poverty.
She will be working with Professors Sarah Hamersma and Katherine Michelmore.
Prior to attending Maxwell, Rhea worked within the economic development and social policy fields in various analytical capacities: Research Analyst at Reinvestment Fund, Senior Research Analyst at The Institute for Innovation and Implementation
at the University of Maryland, and Economic Analyst at the State of Michigan's Bureau of Labor Market Information.
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Catherine Annis
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Tallahassee, Florida
Florida State University (2016), BS in International Affairs
Florida State University (2018), MPA in Public Administration
Prior to attending Maxwell, Catherine worked on a National Science Foundation project studying Smart City initiatives as a researcher for Florida State University. Catherine also managed the Public Policy Group for the DeVoe Moore Center
at Florida State. In 2017, she interned with the Office of Minority Business and Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Catherine's research interests include public sector innovation, collaborative governance, and organizational networks. Her work explores the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) as tools for citizen engagement, workflow
management, and coordination. She is particularly interested in multi-sector collaboration and is currently looking at this issue in the context of veteran community care networks.
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 | Brandon De Bruhl Email Brandon is passionate about the
use, management, and application of data in the
public sector. Starting his career on Capitol Hill
and in state government, Brandon has been a
champion for improved data access and quality.
Recently, he served as a Senior Policy Analyst
for the Office of Management and Budget – a
White House Component. At OMB, Brandon
worked across the federal government on
initiatives to improve data quality in
regulations, information collections, and the
federal budget. Brandon holds a Master’s
Degree in Public Policy specializing in Decision
Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political
Economy. His research is focus science and
technology policy. Brandon’s research interests
include government investment in science, data
management, automation, space exploration,
data privacy, and organizational theory. While
working at OMB, Brandon served as adjunct
faculty at the University of Southern
California’s Price School of Public Policy
teaching Public Financial Management and
Economics for Public Policy. |
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Emily Cardon
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Farmington, Connecticut
Boston College (2008) BA – International Studies.
Syracuse University (2013) MPA – Public Administration.
Prior to her graduate studies at Maxwell, Emily worked for Congressman Jim Himes in Washington, D.C., ultimately serving as Legislative Assistant. Emily’s research interests focus on health policy. She works with Professor Leonard Lopoo
in the Center for Policy Research.
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Ziqiao Chen
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Beijing, China
University of Rochester (2014) BA – International Relations and Economics.
University of Pittsburgh (2016) MPA – Policy Research and Analysis.
Ziqiao developed his research interest in energy and environmental policy since he was an intern at the European Parliament. Prior to attending Maxwell, Ziqiao studied in Rochester and Pittsburgh and provided research support for projects
on EU’s emissions trading scheme and shale gas policy in China. He is exploring the role of emissions control policy in driving innovations of cleaner and more energy-efficient technology in the industry. Ziqiao works with Professor
David Popp.
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Yoon-Jung Choi
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Bloomington, Indiana
Seoul National University, BA in Political Science (2012)
Indiana University, MPA in Public Financial Administration (2017)
Yoon-Jung's research interests are in the areas of public finance and budgeting, public financial management, and public economics. Within these fields, she focuses on research that involves public debt and taxation. Yoon-Jung will work
with Professor John Yinger.
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 | Myriam Gregoire-Zawilski Email Myriam's research interest is in the field of
environmental/energy policy, more specifically
on sustainability transitions in the developing
world. At Maxwell, she will be working under
the supervision of Professor David Popp.
Myriam's M.Sc. research focused on the
political economy of soybean value chains in
Brazil, where she conducted field research and
was a junior research associate at the Research
Lab on Political Behaviour, Institutions and
Public Policy (University of Brasilia, Political
Science Department). Prior to joining Maxwell,
Myriam worked at the OECD Development
Centre, in the Partnerships and Networks Unit,
and at Canada's International Development
Research Centre, where she was a program
management officer in the Technology and Innovation group. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Myriam also worked as a
reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation's Francophone network. Myriam
speaks French, English and Brazilian
Portuguese fluently and is working towards
improving her command of German. |
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Jeehee Han
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Seoul, South Korea
Northwestern University (2014), BA - Economics and Sociology.
Columbia University (2016) MA - Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences.
While studying economics and sociology at Northwestern University, Jeehee interned at the US Department of Education for the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. She also worked as a research assistant at the NYC Department
of Housing Preservation and Development after starting her Master’s program at Columbia University. Now she is a PhD student with concentrations in Social Policy and Public Finance. She is interested in research questions spanning
the areas of education, housing and welfare.
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 | Abdela Hilo Email Jimma University, Ethiopia, BS in Pharmacy Arbaminch University, Ethiopia, MPH Syracuse University, MPA Abdela Alte has over ten years of working
experience both in government and nongovernmental organizations. While working as head of South Omo
Zone health department, he designed
strategies and effectively implemented
various health programs with greater emphasis on developing health infrastructure, increasing community
awareness by health education, improving
maternal health, reducing child death, and
decreasing the spread and resulting death
from communicable diseases. As a head of
the health department he took the leading
role in transforming the health condition of
pastoralists and marginalized people in the
zone. Currently, he is working as lecturer at
the department of management and vice
president for administration and student
services in one of the public universities in Ethiopia. |
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Dae-Woo Kim
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Seoul, Republic of Korea
Korea University (2003) BA - Public Administration.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2010) - Master of Human Resources & Industrial Relations.
Interests - public management, nonprofit management, human resource management. Dae-Woo works with Professor Soonhee Kim in the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.
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Hyoung-Keun (Jay) Kwon
Email
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Swarthmore College, BA in Mathematics (2015)
Seoul National University, Master of Public Administration (2017)
Jay’s fields of interest include public financial management and public management. Prior to joining Maxwell, he worked as a research assistant at the Center for Government Competitiveness at Seoul National University. Jay works with Professor
Yilin Hou in the Center for Policy Research.
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Mohammed Qasim Mehdi
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Lahore, Pakistan
Lahore University of Management Sciences (2014), BA - History
Syracuse University (2017), MPA
Qasim studies carbon policies, collaborative governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation. His concentrations are in environmental policy and public management. Qasim works with Peter Wilcoxen and Tina Nabatchi int he Center for Policy Research.
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Brian Ohl
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Greene, New York
Ithaca College (2003) BA – Philosophy and History
Cornell University (2005) MPA – Environmental Policy
Prior to attending Maxwell, Brian spent over seven years working at the New York City Office of Management and Budget, most recently as the Assistant Director of the Infrastructure Task Force, where he and his team oversaw/prepared the
budgets of a number of agencies/institutions including the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Taxi and Limousine Commission, the three New York City library systems, and the Department of
Cultural Affairs. His research focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation, and he works with Peter Wilcoxen and David Popp in the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration.
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Hannah Patnaik
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Boston University (2014), Masters in Economics and a Bachelors in both Economics and International Relations
Since then she worked at Boston Biomedical Consultants as a market research analyst, and following that, as a Junior Business Partnerships Consultant at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Hannah's research interests
include sustainable development and public health policies in developing countries. Outside of academia she loves to travel and read
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Laura Rodriguez Ortiz
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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Laura is working with Professor Len Lopoo in the Center for Policy Research. She is a Fulbright scholar from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she studied Economics in the Pontificia Universidad Católita Madre y Maestra. Before coming
to Maxwell to pursue a joint degree in Public Administration and Economics she worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in projects related to poverty reduction in her home country. During her second year in Maxwell
she worked for the Say Yes Foundation as a Research Assistant. She is interested in using behavioral economics and quantitative methods to address questions related to education, family welfare and immigration.
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Chris Rick
Email
Waldorf, Maryland
University of Maryland (2009), BA - Economics
City College of New York (2016), MA - Economics
After graduating from UMD, Chris worked as a researcher for Battelle Memorial Institute. He has studied the economic impact of air cargo shipments and co-written various reports for the US Department of Transportation, including Freight
Facts and Figures and Transportation Statistics Annual Report. While studying to earn an MA in economics at City College, Chris taught Principles of Microeconomics to undergraduate students. He is interested in how public policy can
improve all aspects of urban life. Chris will work with Professor Amy Ellen Schwartz.
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Mattie Mackenzie-Liu
Bloomington, Indiana
Hamilton College (2014), MA in Public Policy and Studio Art
Indiana University (2017), MPA in Health Policy and Policy Analysis
Mattie is primarily interested in health policy and related public program evaluation. Mattie will work with Professors Len Lopoo and Sarah Hamersma.
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 | Bo Zheng Email Tsinghua University, China, Bachelor of Engineering (2008) Syracuse University, MPA Bo Zheng is a first-year PhD student in the
Maxwell School’s Public Administration and
International Affairs Department. His
research interest is in how technological
change impact social inequality, by way of
changing the nature of human jobs. He
considers his love for technology his biggest
hobby and he plays with his 3D-printer at
home. Bo taught debate for nine
years before beginning his studies at Syracuse. Born and raised in the freezing
northeast of China, he feels very much at home in Syracuse. |