A recent graduate of the Friedman School, I am now a Research Analyst with Mathematica, a policy research company. I am a nutrition program evaluator focusing on qualitative and survey methods. In my last year at the Friedman School, I interned with Feeding America’s research team where I helped build an evaluation platform to support food banks in conducting their own evaluations, and I also provided technical assistance to ongoing evaluations. In research assistantships during my time at Friedman, I used semi-structured interviews to evaluate Boston Public Schools’ efforts to increase local food offerings and analyzed cognitive interviews with WIC participants to assess understanding of a breastfeeding survey. I also have experience conducting interviews in Spanish with dollar store shoppers to better understand the role of dollar stores in supporting food security. Prior to graduate school, I was a SNAP Advocate with a Boston-area non-profit, assisting individuals with SNAP applications and recertifications and resolving complex issues with their benefits. I also participated in extensive state- and federal-level advocacy efforts related to improving the SNAP program for participants. My experiences working with program participants and government agencies have taught me the importance of focusing on equity in research.
