Meet the SSN Graduate Fellows for 2014-15
Regional groups in the Scholars Strategy Network choose a graduate student fellow each year. Our third class includes fifteen young women and men studying at universities from the North to the South and from the Atlantic to the mid-Pacific. Each is doing cutting-edge research that speaks to critical public challenges.
To learn more about each of the 2013-14 Fellows, click on a name to see the person's full profile with research interests and civic involvements. Click on a title to read the full brief. View the full list of Fellows here.
Laura Bennett, Research Triangle SSN Graduate Fellow
Master of Public Policy Candidate, Sanford School, Duke University
SSN Civic Engagement: “How Colleges in North Carolina – And Beyond – Can Help Students Vote”
Sara Bernardo, Boston SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Candidate in Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston
SSN Key Findings: “Financial Reforms Alone Cannot Reduce Household Debt for Americans Facing Low Wages and Insecure Jobs”
Jennifer Crittenden, Maine SSN Graduate Fellow
Fiscal & Administrative Officer, University of Maine Center on Aging
SSN Key Findings: “The Value of Volunteer Engagement by Older Americans”
John D’Attoma, Confluence SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Missouri-St. Louis
SSN Key Findings: “Roots and Remedies for Rampant Tax Evasion in Italy”
Charles Decker, New Haven SSN Graduate Fellow
Graduate Student in Political Science, Yale University
SSN Key Findings: “Massachusetts as a Surprising Pioneer in the Turn to Mandatory Sentencing as a Response to Crime”
Vontrese R. Deeds, Evanston SSN Graduate Fellow
Doctoral Student in Management and Organizations & Sociology, Northwestern University
SSN Key Findings: “How School Closures Can Hurt Students by Disrupting Urban Educational Communities”
Ryan Gabriel, Northwest SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Student in Sociology, University of Washington
SSN Kay Findings: “Will America's Growing Number of Racially Mixed Families Ensure That Neighborhoods Become More Diverse?”
Jake Martìn Grumbach, Bay Area SSN Graduate Fellow
Graduate Student in Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
SSN Basic Facts: “San Francisco's Pioneering Health Program Shows That Local Governments Can Help All Working Families”
Natalie Novick, San Diego SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Student in Sociology, University of California, San Diego
SSN Basic Facts: “Will the United States Adopt Start-Up Immigrant Visas to Foster Economic Innovation?”
James Stephen Schlaffer, Oklahoma SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Student in Economics, University of Oklahoma
SSN Key Findings: “Is the Use of Hydraulic Fracturing by the Energy Industry Causing More Frequent Earthquakes in Oklahoma?”
Benjamin Toff, Madison SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
SSN Basic Facts: “Rethinking the Role of Public Opinion Polls in American Democracy”
Rex Troumbley, Hawaii SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
SSN Basic Facts: “How New Digital Technologies Make It Possible to Privatize Censorship and Manipulate Citizen-Users”
Chandi Wagner, Texas SSN Graduate Fellow
Graduate Student in Public Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
SSN Key Findings: “Schools are Racing to Adopt Digital Tools without Solid Evidence That They Boost Student Achievement” (with Patricia Burch, Annalee Good, and Carolyn J. Heinrich)
Sherry Zhang, Finger Lakes and Working Group on Criminal Justice SSN Graduate Fellow
PhD Candidate in Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
SSN Basic Facts: “Understanding the Many Difficulties Faced by the Children of Imprisoned Mothers”
Robert Zuchowski, New Orleans SSN Graduate Fellow
Graduate Student in Criminal Justice, Loyola University New Orleans
SSN Basic Facts: “How Free Computer Software and Regularly Collected Data Can be Used to Explore Crime in Urban Environments”