Research Assistants

Christopher Tyler Burks is a Founders' Fellow for the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and a doctoral researcher of public administration and policy at American University's School of Public Affairs. His research addresses questions about social equity in metropolitan governance, urban planning, and city management. His research agenda seeks to understand how urban policy sets the social and market conditions for community and economic development or decline. Chris holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he founded Urban Analysis, a consulting firm for change-making through policy, planning, and politics.

Grace Cerand is a Master of Public Administration candidate at American University. Her research interests center on economic inequality and, more specifically, the role the public sector can play in advancing social equity in wealth, income, and housing that caters to the needs of low- and moderate-income populations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from American University in International Studies and Communication Studies.

Sarah Edwards is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Public Policy at American University. Her research interests include social inequality, non-profit policy, and immigration. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics from Whitman College and has spent the past few years working as a Program Coordinator for the non-profit, Girls on the Run. Sarah is passionate about utilizing research to uplift communities and advocate for equitable policies on both national and local levels.
 

Niya N. Garrett is a first-year Master of Public Policy candidate at American University. Her research interests include physical and cultural displacement; urban wealth and social inequality; sustainable cities; and global gentrification. She holds a B.A. in International Studies with a focus on International Development from Spelman College.
 

Marquan Hamilton is a first year Master of Public Policy candidate at American University. His research interests include social policy, specifically racial inequality and its effects on education, housing, and employment. He has a B.A. in Political Science, with a minor in Sociology, and a concentration in Law & Justice of the Legal Systems from North Carolina State University. 

Arielle Levin is a Master of Public Policy candidate at American University. Her research interests include wealth and income inequality, federal welfare policy, poverty alleviation, and reproductive justice. Arielle holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in Society and Environment. She is dedicated to the research, creation, and implementation of equitable and sustainable social policy.

Social Media Coordinator

Yohanis Lamere is a first-year graduate student of the Master of Social Enterprise program at the School of International Service, American University. He completed his Bachelor of Communication at University of Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Indonesia and in the last few years he has worked in the sustainability industry, starting from organizing a climate change campaign to taking students to learn about ecology to different ecosystems in South East Asia. Yohanis is passionate about solving social and environmental issues through a social entrepreneurship approach.