The Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the American Enterprise Institute offer a unique program aimed at cultivating human capital within the education-policy sector. The Emerging Education Policy Scholars (EEPS) program brings newly minted Ph.D. scholars and Ph.D. candidates who bring to the table a keen research eye, fresh ideas, and boundless (or budding) enthusiasm for education policy to our nation’s capital to meet with education-policy experts and to share and brainstorm exciting new directions for K–12 education research. The program focuses on three over-arching goals:

  • To foster an opportunity for talented, promising scholars to connect with other scholars in their field, as well as to introduce them to key players in the education-policy arena;

  • To expand the pool of talent and ideas from which the education-policy arena currently draws; and

  • To increase understanding of how the worlds of policy and practice intersect with scholarly research in education and related fields.

For more information about the EEPS program, please contact program coordinator Victoria McDougald. The EEPS program is generously supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Class of 2012–13

Angela Boatman   Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University Ph.D., Higher Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2012)

Jessica Boccardo   Consultant, The Boston Consulting Group Ph.D., Public Policy, Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University (2013)

Deven Carlson   Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma Ph.D., Political Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2012)

Sarah Cohodes   Doctoral Candidate, Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government (2016) Doctoral Fellow, Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy

Ashley Jochim   Research Analyst, Center on Reinventing Public Education Ph.D., Political Science, University of Washington (2012)

Nate Jensen   Research Scientist, Kingsbury Center, Northwest Evaluation Association Ph.D., Counselor Education, University of Arkansas (2012)

Michael Jones   Research Assistant Professor, Economics Center, University of Cincinnati Ph.D., Economics, University of Notre Dame (2012)

Matthew Kraft   Assistant Professor of Education, Brown University Ph.D., Quantitative Policy Analysis, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2013)

Andrew McEachin   Assistant Professor, Educational Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation, North Carolina State University Ph.D., Education Policy, University of Southern California (2012)

Michael McShane   Research Fellow, Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute Ph.D., Education Policy, Department of Education Reform, University of Arkansas (2012)

Eric Parsons   Assistant Research Professor, Department of Economics, University of Missouri Ph.D., Economics, University of Missouri (2013)

Morgan Polikoff   Assistant Professor of Education, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California Ph.D., Education Policy, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (2010)

Andrew Saultz   Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Miami University Ph.D., Educational Policy, Michigan State University (2013)

Eric Taylor   Doctoral Candidate, Economics of Education, Stanford University (2015)

Chris Torres   Assistant Professor, Counseling and Educational Leadership, Montclair State University Ph.D., Urban Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education & Human Development, New York University (2013)

Jon Valant   Fellow, Brookings Institution Ph.D., Educational Policy, Stanford University (2014)

Jennie Weiner   Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Connecticut Ph.D., Education Policy, Leadership and Instructional Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2012)

Rebecca Zumeta   Senior Researcher, Education Program, American Institutes for Research Ph.D., Special Education, Vanderbilt University (2010)