Youth Policy Lab

Jacob is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. Jacob's current research focuses on urban school reform, with a particular emphasis on standards and accountability initiatives.

Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.

Milagros Chocce is a project manager at the Youth Policy Lab. Milagros holds a MPP degree from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru. Prior to joinin...

Megan Foster Friedman is the Managing Director for the Youth Policy Lab, focusing on maternal and infant health issues. Prior to joining the Youth Policy Lab, Megan was a senior healthcare analyst at the Center for Health and Research Transformation ...

Carrie Hammerman joined the Youth Policy Lab in 2024 as its new Director of Strategic Partnerships. In this role, she seeks to increase YPL’s visibility and policy impact while ensuring funding sustainability to support ongoing research and project d...

Zaiyi Jiang is a project manager at the Youth Policy Lab. Zaiyi holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School and an MA in international journalism and communication from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. During her time in ...

Shiyu Nitsos joined the Ford School in July 2018 and currently provides administrative support for the operations and programs of the Youth Policy Lab.  Shiyu grew up in China and graduated from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (Ch...

Liz comes to YPL with seven years of experience working in the California Department of Public Health. She holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in Sociology. At YPL, she will oversee our data operations, analyze and ma...