Meet the JPRs

After completing a degree in economics at Macalester College in 2025, Benito has participated in various summer programs before arriving at ISR, including the University of Maryland Summer Research Initiative and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ Summer Internship Program. With a research interest in agricultural economics, she’ll spend her time with the JPR program in the Surveys of Consumers working to deepen her understanding of economics by strengthening her coding skills and knowledge of research methods. Long term, she hopes to apply her knowledge by contributing to research that shapes agricultural policy that ultimately makes U.S. agriculture more sustainable.

Conway graduated with honors from the University of Richmond in 2024, double majoring in leadership studies and sociology. Though she is primarily interested in qualitative research methods, she also values mixed method approaches and perspectives. She put her mixed-method interests to work during a recent nine-month stint as a qualitative analysis intern for the Pew Research Center’s data labs. Her passion for how education and accessible information can affect positive change makes her new role in ISR’s Research to Practice Lab a natural fit. Conway hopes to pursue graduate studies in sociology and build a career in applied social research.

Divinity received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgia Southern University in 2024. In her most recent role as a research assistant at the Social Cultural, and Interpersonal Processes (SCIP) Laboratory at Georgia Southern, she contributed to several publications and conference presentations under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Virginia Wickline. A McNair scholar, Divinity’s research interests include the long-term effects of trauma within the family unit, the development of anxiety and its influence on social behavior, and evidence-based interventions that foster resilience. At ISR, she’ll work with the Program for Research on Black Americans (PRBA), collaborating with Briana Mezuk, Deborah Robinson, and Mary Wessel Walker on the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) 25 Year Follow-Up study.

Funez joins ISR after completing a bachelor’s degree in economics at Williams College with concentrations in coastal and ocean studies as well as Latina/o/x studies in 2026. While there, she completed a senior thesis focusing on the impact of congestion pricing on emergency medical service response times in New York City. Her research interests center on public and urban economics, and she’ll bring that focus to the Youth Policy Lab, where she hopes to further those interests while sharpening her statistical techniques and research methods while laying the groundwork for a future Ph.D. in economics.

Kevala joins the Panel Study of Income Dynamics after completing majors in economics and international relations at the University of Maryland, College Park, adding a minor in French. Kevala was a member of the Promoting Achievement and Diversity in Economics (PADE) program during his undergraduate studies, which supports academically distinguished students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds as they pursue careers and education in economics. He’ll continue in that vein at ISR, pursuing broad academic interests in using economic analysis to shape public policy to improve material outcomes in the domains of finances and education while he looks ahead to graduate studies in economics.

Wright completed his degree in economics and social policy analysis at Rice University this spring and now joins the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. As an undergrad, Wright conducted research on both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of inequality, completing a capstone research project during his senior year involving a spatial analysis of food insecurity across Galveston County, developing a methodology to identify optimal food pantry locations for a food rescue nonprofit. A former Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) fellow at the University of Michigan, Wright returns to U-M hoping to strengthen his research abilities and build meaningful relationships with his mentors and peers.

Ming Tate is a recent graduate of the Xavier Exponential Honors Program at Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned her degree in Psychological Sciences with minors in African American Diaspora Studies and History. A dedicated McNair Scholar and former Supplemental Instructor for Research Methods, she has participated in several prestigious NIDA and SRIEP research fellowships, including her most recent role as an NIH post-baccalaureate research technician. She aims to pursue graduate studies in counseling psychology, with a focus on addressing historical trauma, race, and cultural identity in therapeutic practice.

Yasmine Skalli came to ISR from Columbus, Ohio after receiving her bachelor’s in Social and Environmental Geography from Ohio State University. In her time at OSU, she completed an independent research project looking at community development and place-making practices of Muslims in Detroit. Yasmine also assisted in a community based participatory research project at OSU’s Department of Geography investigating the role of formal and informal networks of support in the lives of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Courtney Fitzgerald is a Beinecke Scholar and 2025 graduate of Emory University. During her time there, she conducted research on multiple projects utilizing mixed methods approaches. Her research interests largely center around family demography and social psychology, with an emphasis on intersectionality and inequality.

Eunice Adjapong graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Statistics from the University of Maryland. Originally from Ghana, she is passionate about addressing socioeconomic challenges facing the African continent and communities around the world. Her research interests focus on poverty alleviation through evidence-based programs and policy solutions.

Kaila is a recent graduate of Colorado College with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Chinese Language. At Colorado College, she assisted in research on the neural mechanisms of learning and memory, specifically examining how estradiol facilitates spinogenesis in auditory neurons of songbirds when exposed to novel sound. She is broadly interested in the intersection of social and biological processes and how these shape brain function.

Brita graduated in 2024 from the Ohio State University with a degree in sociology. Her research interests include social stratification, labor, and collective action. Brita’s professional background in healthcare, education, and childcare shaped her interest in how institutions structure people’s lives and how individuals navigate these systems. This led her to pursue academic research that utilizes quantitative methods to better understand structural inequalities.

Elora joined ISR after earning a B.A. in Public Policy and minors in Economics and Civic Analytics from the University of Illinois Chicago, where she assisted in and conducted research across various fields, including government finance and public health. At ISR, Elora is part of the American National Election Studies (ANES) team, observing changes in public opinion over time within the U.S. electorate. Her mentors are Nicholas Valentino and David Howell.

Ritsa came to ISR from Lincoln, Nebraska where she completed her B.A. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Political Science and Economics with minors in Psychology, Statistics, and Mathematics. At ISR, she now works with law and economics faculty JJ Prescott and Sonja Starr assessing the effects of automatic criminal record expungement in Michigan.

Malak is a 2024 graduate from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Public Policy and minor in Economics and has extensive experience as a research assistant in policy and political science, alongside federal and congressional internships. She is a research associate on the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), where she is currently examining the links between survey response behavior and cognition. Thomas Crossley and Noura Insolera are her mentors.

Belle came to ISR from Green Bay, WI where she worked on clinical and cognitive psychology research and obtained her B.A. in Psychology. Belle is on the National Addiction and HIV Data Archive Program team, where she is conducting research on the impacts of nicotine on women throughout their lifespan. Amy Pienta and Chelsea Samples-Steele are her mentors.

Daniel returned to Michigan after graduating from Columbia University, where he studied Political Science, Statistics, and Hispanic Studies, with research focused on redistricting reform and subnational identity development. As part of the CJARS team, Daniel is currently helping process criminal justice data received from dozens of agencies across the country. Michael Mueller-Smith and Jordan Papp are Daniel’s mentors.

Madelyn came to ISR from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she studied Sociology, Religious Studies, and Data Science, worked on Add Health, and was a NextGenPop research fellow. She works with Dr. Noah Webster in the Life Course Development program on multiple projects, including a rural contexts study in collaboration with the College of Engineering and the Huron River Watershed Council which evaluates the role of social networks and technology use among dam operators.

Juliana joined ISR after studying Public Policy and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of Chicago. She is currently part of the Monitoring the Future Panel team, where she assists in conducting follow-up surveys with subsets of graduating high schoolers surveyed by MTF to track trends in substance use. Ginny Laetz and Megan Patrick are Juliana’s mentors.

Doug grew up outside of Philadelphia and attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he studied Economics. Doug is currently working on the Decennial Census Digitization and Linkage Project, which is using census data from between 1940-2000 to create a longitudinal data set that will allow for groundbreaking research on opportunity and mobility. His mentors are Trent Alexander and David Bleckley.

Guiying (Angel) came to ISR from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked as a Research Analyst at the Center for Health Disparities Research after graduating from the University of the Pacific in 2023. At ISR, Angel is part of the PC CARES team, a community health program led by Dr. Lisa Wexler, where they are taking a participatory strengths based-approach to suicide prevention and helping translate research into actionable products and takeaways for community members.