MDRC is pleased to welcome two doctoral fellows and two undergraduate interns who have joined us for the summer.

The fellowships and internships are supported by the Judith Gueron Fund Scholars program, which seeks to engage and encourage individuals from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the education and social policy research communities. All fellows and interns participate in the intellectual life of MDRC by attending seminars and project meetings. Doctoral fellows receive the advice and support of MDRC’s staff in completing their dissertations.

Gueron Doctoral Fellows

• Bailey Brown is a doctoral candidate in Columbia University’s Sociology Department. Her research examines the intersections of urban poverty, elementary education, and the family using qualitative methods. Her dissertation evaluates urban school choice policy and open enrollment plans from the perspective of parents. Specifically, her work analyzes the social processes that shape how low-income parents living in New York City make educational decisions for their elementary-aged children. She considers how differences in resource allocation, times of economic uncertainty, and the rise of schools of choice shape parenting across socioeconomic indicators. Bailey is working from our New York City office.

• Nidia Ruedas-Gracia is a doctoral candidate in the Developmental and Psychological Sciences Department at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include exploring the sociocultural factors that impact the academic performance and psychological development of historically marginalized students in higher education. She is also interested in informing and developing culturally-sustaining interventions for historically marginalized college students, specifically those who are first generation and have low incomes. Her dissertation explores the association between sense of belonging and academic performance among first-generation/low-income college students. Nidia is in our Oakland, CA, office.

Gueron Undergraduate Interns

• Talia Scott is a rising senior at Haverford College majoring in political science with concentrations in peace, justice, and human rights and in Africana studies. She plans to write her senior thesis on the costs of prison to families and society. She is also interested in structural gaps in higher education access and preparation.

• Fernando Medina is a rising senior at Brown University majoring in public policy with a focus in education, environment, and government ethics. He is a member of the Brown Progressive Action Committee, in which he led a campaign in favor of a criminal justice reform bill in Rhode Island and was involved in a campaign for the Rhode Island Promise Program.

Both Talia and Fernando are in our New York City office.