Center for Policy Research Leadership and Staff

Shannon Monnat is the Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion and director of the Center for Policy Research. She is also a professor of sociology and co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab at Syracuse University. Monnat is a rural sociologist, demographer and population health scholar who conducts research on demographic and geographic trends and differences in heath and mortality, with a specific interest in rural health and health disparities.

Her most recent research has focused on drug use and overdose, particularly trying to understand the factors that explain demographic and geographic differences in use and overdose rates. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book chapters, research briefs and reports, and has presented her research to numerous public, academic and policy audiences, including the United Nations, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the Aspen Institute, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy and at Congressional briefings.

Her research has been featured in several media outlets, including CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Atlantic. Monnat teaches graduate courses in Demographic Processes and Health and Place and an undergraduate Introduction to Sociology course.

Peg directs the day to day operations of the center. She is responsible for meeting faculty research needs, non-faculty personnel, graduate assistant setup and physical space for the Center. Peg manages the financial and staff support aspects of externally funded research projects.

Katrina provides support to CPR faculty and graduate students in the preparation of proposal submissions to secure external research funding. She also assists with applications for internal funding. Katrina coordinates the annual Paul Volcker Lecture and Camp Econometrics. She also provides administrative staff support to the Maxwell X Lab. 

Zia is CPR’s fiscal coordinator. She provides administrative support to all CPR faculty members as well as associate director, Peg Austin. She also coordinates the Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture on Health Policy and the Syracuse-Chicago Webinar Series on Property Tax Administration and Design.

Alyssa oversees digital communications for CPR and the Lerner Center. She also manages the two centers’ brief series and copyedits faculty publications. She develops CPR’s annual newsletter and Lerner’s monthly newsletter. Alyssa also coordinates the CPR Seminar Series and the What’s at Stake Panel Series.

Davor assists the director in the Center for Policy Design and Governance with planning, coordination, implementation and performance tracking of center activities and initiatives. He also schedules and coordinates events and meetings.

Candi provides end user computer support and maintenance, covering both hardware and software applications for CPR faculty, staff and research associates. She investigates, recommends and coordinates all equipment and software purchases/upgrades for CPR and serves as the CPR webmaster, overseeing the design and maintenance of the Center's website. Candi is also the liaison for Maxwell ICT research computing.