CLOSUP Staff
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Brian Jacob, DirectorBrian Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy, Professor of Economics, and Director of the Center on Local, State and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an Executive Committee Member of the National Poverty Center. He has previously served as a policy analyst in the NYC Mayor's Office and taught middle school in East Harlem. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. His current research focuses on urban school reform and teacher labor markets. In recent work, he has examined school choice, education accountability programs, housing vouchers, and teacher promotion policies. |
Jonathan Bartik, Research Assistant
Jonathan is a sophomore at the University of Michigan working towards a B.A. in either Economics or Public Policy. Currently he is taking courses in Economics, Public Policy, and Education in order to help decide the rest of his undergraduate career.
Rob Garlick, Graduate Student Research Assistant
Rob is a second year PhD student in the joint Economics and Public Policy program. He holds a bachelors degree in Economics, Mathematics and Philosophy and a masters degree in Economics, both from the University of Cape Town. During his studies in Cape Town he founded and directed Ubunye, a non-profit providing instructional support to underprivileged high schools. His research interests are in development economics, the economics of education, program evaluation and applied econometics.
Debra Horner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Debra joined CLOSUP in September 2008. She received her doctorate in Political Science from the University of Michigan and has experience with survey research projects both in academia and the private sector. Her primary areas of research center on political attitudes and political participation with her dissertation research focusing on the concept of political interest and the different ways we can think about individuals' engagement in political processes. Debra is also Voter Service Chair for the League of Women Voters Oakland Area and an active volunteer at her three children's schools.
Samuel Hwang, CLOSUP Graduate Student Intern
Samuel Hwang is a first year MPP at Ford School, specializing in the issue of poverty alleviation. Before coming to the University of Michigan he graduated from Hendrix College, where he double majored in Economics and Mathematics. His current research interest is measuring the effect of the No Child Left Behind on the academic achievements of disadvantaged students and investigating the various ways in which the accountability policy is being implemented in each state.
Josh Hyman, Graduate Student Research Assistant
Josh received his B.A. from Tufts University in 2005, majoring in Quantitative Economics and minoring in Music. While at Tufts, he wrote a thesis examining the effect of No Child Left Behind on arts and music education. After graduating, he worked for two years in the Social and Economic Policy Division at Abt Associates Inc. in Cambridge, MA. Josh is interested in labor economics, public finance and education policy.
Thomas Ivacko, Administrator & Program Manager
Tom joined CLOSUP in the fall of 2001 and serves as the Center's administrator and program manager, handling the administration and management of the Center. Tom previously spent 11 years as a study manager, program manager and administrator with the National Election Studies at the UofM Institute for Social Research. Outside of work he coaches youth sports and serves as president of a nature area non-profit organization that focuses on stewardship and elementary school environmental educational opportunities in Ann Arbor, MI.
Nate Reid, Research Assistant
Nate is a senior at the University of Michigan, completing his B.A. in Economics and Political Science in April 2009. His coursework has focused on a wide array of economic disciplines, including industrial organization and financial economics. Nate plans to work in a research position prior to enrolling in graduate school.
Bonnie Roberts, Project Coordinator
Bonnie is the Project Coordinator for CLOSUP. She joined CLOSUP in August 2008 and shares an appointment at the School of Public Policy as the Program Administrator for the Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program. Bonnie has a bachelors degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Eastern Michigan University. Before joining CLOSUP, she worked for the UM Labor Studies Center as a Program Administrator and Events Manager.
Emily Roessel, CLOSUP Graduate Student Intern
Emily is a first year MPP student at the Ford School. Before coming to the University of Michigan, she graduated from Brown University with a BA in Applied Math-Economics and worked as a research assistant for the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution. She is interested in education and social policy.
Mark Strayer, CLOSUP Graduate Student Intern
Mark is a first year MPP student at the Ford School. He graduated in 2005 from Augustana College with a degree in philosophy. Subsequently, he worked as a case manager at two social service agencies working with the homeless. He is interested in social policy, particularly poverty and inequality.
Elias Walsh, Graduate Student Research Assistant
Elias has a Masters in Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy from Cornell College. He taught high school mathematics in Chicago as a Teach For America corps member where he learned a great deal about humility. While at the Ford School he interned at the Government Accountability Office where he worked on projects relating to No Child Left Behind and higher education financial aid. His fields of specialization are Labor Economics and Public Finance.
Tamara Wilder, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Tamara is a Postdoctoral Fellow at CLOSUP. She is a 2007-08 Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow. Her research focuses on equity issues, accountability, school choice, and parent and community involvement in schools. She received her M.A. in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences and her Ph.D. in Politics and Education from Columbia University.
CLOSUP Personnel
