Miriam Krugman

Manning Zhang, MPP Candidate

Lisa Thorn, MPP Candidate

Branden Miles, MPP candidate

Armando Vizcardo, MPP candidate
Armando Vizcardo is a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) candidate at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, concentrating in Economic and Racial Equity. Previously, he earned his BA in economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston. After his BA, he worked as a program coordinator at Inversant, a Boston-based children’s savings account (CSA) program, and after, as an analyst for Abt Associates, a social policy and research firm. His research interests focus on asset-building, education, and immigration. Currently, he is assisting the CSA research team at the Institute of Economic and Racial Equity (IERE) with the evaluation of the state-wide MA BabySteps savings program and is involved in research through the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy (ICYFP) examining child care subsidies in MA.

Jonathan (Jon) Jacob, PhD student

Teresa Kroeger, PhD candidate
Teresa Kroeger is a doctoral candidate in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at the Heller School. She researches policies that affect the lives of socioeconomic disadvantaged individuals and families and those who are subject to gender and racial discrimination. At IERE, Teresa's work focuses on occupational segregation and racial wealth gaps. Prior to joining the Heller School, Teresa conducted research at the Economic Policy Institute, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the American Institutes for Research. Her recent research and publications focused on minimum wage violations, paid sick leave, collective bargaining, and the labor market for young graduates. Teresa holds a BA in Economics and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Emily Daman, MPP/MBA candidate
Emily Daman is a dual Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) candidate at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, concentrating in economic and racial equity. At Heller, her research has focused primarily on immigration policy. Prior to Heller, she worked as an implementation specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Emily also has experience in fundraising and development with nonprofits. In her current role as a Graduate Research Assistant at IERE, Emily is working on Empowerment Economics.

Kaitie Chakoian-Lifvergren, PhD student
Kaitie Chakoian is a doctoral candidate in the Economic and Racial Equity concentration at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Her research focuses on the intersections of gender-based violence, intersectional identities, and social policy. Kaitie earned a B.A. in Psychology and Social Justice from Simmons College, an M.Ed from Northeastern University and an M.A. in Sociology from Brandeis. Kaitie's dissertation investigates the experiences of college sexual assault survivors navigating the education, healthcare, and criminal-legal systems in the aftermath of violence. Much of the existing research on college sexual assault focuses on the experiences of certain groups of students - often cis, white, straight, women. Kaitie's research intentionally includes the voices and experiences of a diverse range of survivors - including those with diverse racial, gender, and sexual orientation identities to develop a more holistic understanding the experiences of all survivors. This exploratory qualitative study is infused with both institutional ethnography and intersectional theory.