Graduate Research Assistant

Kristen Allen is an education researcher and PhD student in Public Policy and Administration at American University. Her research interests and expertise include accountability in higher education, student outcomes in the labor market, and socioeconomic mobility through postsecondary educational attainment. She previously worked at Hanover Research as an education research director and senior analyst. She holds a BA in Religious Studies from Elon University and an MEd from the George Washington University.

Senior Fellow

Rajeev Darolia is a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Kentucky, where he also holds the Wendell H. Ford Professorship. He is also currently a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, a Research Fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Member of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and Co-Editor for the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. He previously served at the U.S. Department of Education as the Chief Economist and a Senior Advisor, and as an Advisor for federal rulemaking on college affordability and student loans. His research interests include questions about how public policy affects postsecondary educational decisions and outcomes and more broadly, economic mobility and financial security.

Graduate Research Assistant

Robersha Harlan is a first-year STEM-designated Master of Public Policy student at American University. Her research interests include using advanced quantitative methods, data analytics, and policy to promote equitable access to financial institutions. Before joining PEER, she worked at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services, the Baltimore Action Legal Team as a policy intern, and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen’s Office as a Congressional Intern. Robersha holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in English from Morgan State University.

Graduate Research Assistant

Chris Johnston is pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration at the American University School of Public Affairs with a research focus on the interface between education policy and labor economics. He received a Master of Science in Applied Economics and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before starting his PhD, he worked in commercial banking and as a long-term substitute high school math teacher.

Graduate Research Assistant

Leonardo Restrepo is an education researcher and PhD student in Public Policy and Administration at George Washington University. He uses applied statistics and computational methods to evaluate policy approaches to school segregation, school finance, and student-life outcomes. He has previously worked at the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, the Community College Research Center at Teachers College (Columbia University), and Sesame Workshop. Prior to his work as a researcher, Restrepo worked as a middle school teacher in Brooklyn, New York. He holds a BA in political science from the University of Chicago and an MS in Learning Analytics from Teachers College.

Graduate Research Assistant

Maria Luisa Vásquez is a Ph.D. student in Public Policy and Administration at George Washington University. Her research interests include secondary education, student financial aid, and accountability in higher education systems. She has previously served as an Evaluation Coordinator at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru, a Senior Policy Manager at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Latin America and the Caribbean (J-PAL LAC), and a consultant for the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). María Luisa holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a Master of Public Policy from Duke University.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Meredith Welch is a postdoctoral fellow at the PEER Center, where she conducts research at the intersection of labor economics, the economics of education, and consumer finance. Her current work focuses primarily on the returns to educational investments and the causal impact of student loan policies on borrowers’ labor market outcomes and financial health. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Cornell University and a B.A. in economics and Spanish from the University of Michigan. Prior to her pursuing her Ph.D., she worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the College Board and the Education Trust.

Graduate Research Assistant

Jeff Wheble is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at American University. His dissertation studies the public finance of sin goods with a focus on marijuana policy, tax competition, and cross-border spillovers. Prior to coming to AU, he worked in credit risk at a bank in Las Vegas, his hometown. Jeff received his MA in Applied Economics and BA in Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy
University of Delaware

Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy
University of Texas at Austin

Executive Director of the Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis
The University of Utah

Professor of Public Policy and Economics Director, Center for Studies in Higher Education
University of California, Berkeley

Professor of Economics and Education
Teachers College
Columbia University

Professor of Public Policy
University of Michigan

Associate Professor, Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago

University Professor of Economics and Education
University of Virginia