IERE Racial Equity Fellows and Interns

Teresa Kroeger is a doctoral candidate in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at the Heller School. She researches the role of labor policies on social and economic inequality. Teresa’s dissertation explores gender earnings gaps and occupational segregation in the public sector. She leverages a unique federal personnel dataset to identify employment sorting patterns in the U.S. federal workforce, and the wage implications of those patterns, from 1973 to 2013. Her work analyzes the patterns of employment transitions into, out of, and within the federal workforce by gender and race. The research contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the federal workforce’s pay-setting mechanisms, occupational and agency segregation, pay equity, and spillover effects, with respect to gender and racial equity in the labor market.

Habiba Braimah is a doctoral candidate in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at The Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Her research interest centers the recruitment and retention of faculty of color at predominantly white institutions. For her dissertation, Habiba examines the effects of gendered racism on the faculty job search process for Black women seeking tenure-track faculty positions. Her research is committed to understanding the depths of institutionalized gendered racism in higher education, and uncovering the ways colleges and universities can transform policies and practices in order to create a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. Prior to her doctoral studies, Habiba served as a higher education practitioner at both public and private 4-year and 2-year institutions, working closely with students from underserved communities, and providing a range of financial, academic, professional, and personal support. Habiba received her MA in Higher & Postsecondary Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and her BS in International Business & Marketing at SUNY Plattsburgh.