Our Team

Om is a research assistant supporting the release and analysis of CLOSUP's Michigan Public Policy Survey. He is currently an undergraduate student in the College of Literature, Science, and Arts, tentatively majoring in political science. Om is most…

Parker is a research assistant studying Michigan's Independent Redistricting Commission for the CLOSUP center. He is a junior at the Ford School with a concentration in the intersection of economics and criminal justice. He is interested in public…

Major is a research assistant studying Michigan's local and state recycling for CLOSUP's Michigan Local Recycling Policy Program. He is a dual masters student at the Ford School (Class of 2026) and at the School of Environment and Sustainability…

Jo is a Policy Analyst working to report data from CLOSUP's 2023 Michigan Public Policy Survey. She is a Masters student at the School for Environment and Sustainability (class of 2025), and has a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of…

Sarrah Ahmed is a Policy Analyst working on the Fiscal Health project to create a tool for converting financial data into tagged XBRL format. She is set to graduate with a bachelor’s in information science and a minor in Public Policy in the Fall of…

Mia is a Research Assistant for Close UP on the U.P. She is an undergrad at LSA (class of 2024) studying German, Linguistics, and Translation. Mia is from the Upper Peninsula and is interested in the attitudes and policies of U.P…

Samantha is a Research Assistant helping to analyze the Michigan Public Policy Survey data for CLOSUP’s Function of Democracy Project. She is an undergraduate student planning to study public policy at the Ford School and eventually attend law…

Elizabeth is a Policy Analyst helping the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission incorporate public comments in the senate map redraw process. She recently earned a Master of Public Policy at the Ford School (Class of 2024) and holds…

Danielle Hamer is a Policy Analyst conducting analysis and reports to support the integration of public input in Michigan's redistricting process. She is a newly graduated Master of Public Policy from the Ford School. Danielle has a background in…

Ava is a Research Assistant for CLOSUP, aiding in conducting case studies regarding municipal and state fiscal health for the Fiscal Health Project (FHP). She is a BA student at the Ford School of Public Policy. Prior to attending Ford, Ava interned…

Ingrid is a research assistant working on the results of the summer 2024 MPSS survey. She is an undergraduate studying political science and Spanish. Ingrid is interested in the intersection of law and policy and hopes to attend law school after…

Katelyn is a research assistant who is analyzing local governments in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She is an undergraduate student at the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (class of 2026), and is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English…

Luca Kato is interning as a Fiscal Health Open Source Software Developer working on a tool for converting financial data into tagged XBRL format. He is set to graduate with a Bachelors in Computer Science in 2024. Luca is interested in financial…

Steve is a research assistant working on developing community-centered qualitative research designs on rural Michigan communities through CLOSUP's Fiscal Health project. He is expected to graduate in 2025 with a Master's in Public Policy and a…

Yu-Yu is a Research Assistant focusing on financial condition analysis for CLOSUP’s case studies. She is a dual master’s student at the Ford School of Public Policy and the School of Social Work (Class of 2025) and holds a B.A. in economics from…

Sydney is a research assistant through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) working to analyze and to contribute data to CLOSUP's Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS). She is a current undergraduate student (Class of 2027) who…

Marc is a Research Assistant working on CLOSUP’s latest iteration of the Michigan Public Policy Survey focused on criminal justice. He is an undergraduate in the Ford School class of 2025 majoring in Public Policy. Marc is interested in local…

Edward Webre Plaut is the team lead for the CLOSUP team advising the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission on its public comment submissions for its 2024 redrawing of the Michigan State Senate Map. Eddie has a B.A. in history and…

Anna is an '24 MPP student passionate about social policy. Before the Ford school, she worked on early diversion programming in New York City. Previously she worked at the DC Public Defenders Service as an intern investigator for their Special…

Brandon is a Graduate Student Research Fellow working for CLOSUP on the Michigan Public Policy Survey, investigating challenges to criminal justice reform. He is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan and…

Tristin is a research assistant working on CLOSUP’s “Close Up on the U.P” program. She is a third-year in the School of Information majoring in Information Analysis and minoring in Digital Studies. Tristin is interested in researching the…

Micaja Verna is a second year Masters of Public Policy Student at the Ford School. She has a B.A degree in Law and Society with a minor in Human Rights Studies from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Micaja is interested in social policy,…

Chelsea is a research assistant working for CLOSUP on the Michigan Public Policy Survey about attitudes toward criminal justice reform. She is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan and has a B.S. in…

Katrina is a Policy Analyst helping to standardize municipal finance data for CLOSUP’s Local Fiscal Health Project. She is pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the Ford School (Class of 2025) and holds a B.A. in mathematics and history from Williams…