I am an Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Faculty Director of Penn’s Partnership for Effective Public Administration and Leadership Ethics (PEPALE). In addition to my academic research, I lead Social Policy Analytics, a social policy consulting firm, through which I work with nonprofits and governments to address systemic challenges facing vulnerable populations. I’m also a Senior Research Fellow for United For ALICE, an Expert Contributor with the COVID Collaborative, and the Research and Evaluation Whaler for Whole Whale.
I have dedicated my career to ameliorating seemingly intractable social policy problems through collaborative and innovative research that engages governments, nonprofits, and people with lived experience, and training students to do the same. My research interests have focused on homelessness, housing, poverty, and income insufficiency more broadly. This work has offered a window into related and often intersecting systems, like child welfare, veterans affairs, and health care. My research has appeared in a wide range of peer-reviewed publications, including Public Administration Review, Health Affairs, the American Journal of Public Health, and Psychiatric Services. In addition to my research, I teach quantitative reasoning and program development and evaluation courses to burgeoning Masters in Public Administration students at the University of Pennsylvania.
I’ve been at Penn since 2012 - first as a PhD student, then a PostDoc, and now my current roles. Prior to that, I was Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation for New York City’s Department of Homeless Services. I have a PhD in Social Welfare from Penn and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA with my wife and two young sons whose endless energy reminds me that age is, indeed, more than just a number.
You can see my latest CV here and most of my writings can be found here. Want to talk about any of this work, or share your work, or see if we can work together? Send me a note.