Education, Labor Markets & Economic Mobility

Allison Atteberry is an associate professor of education and public policy and director of EdPolicyWorks, a collaboration between the School of Education and Human Development and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Atteberry conducts research on teacher- and school-level interventions designed to improve the quality of instruction experienced by historically underserved students.

Andrew Simon is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is a public finance economist who studies the incidence of state and local public policies across individuals and geography. His current research focuses on higher education finance, such as the causes and consequence of state divestment in public colleges, as well as taxation, and employment policy.

Ben Castleman is a professor of public policy and education at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on policies and strategies to improve postsecondary educational and workforce outcomes for individuals from lower-income communities. Castleman conducts this research through collaborative research-policy partnerships with public agencies and organizations at the local, state, and federal levels.

Daphna Bassok is professor of education and public policy at the University of Virginia and associate director of EdPolicyWorks, a collaboration between the School of Education and Human Development and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Her research focuses on early childhood education policy and efforts to improve early childhood education at scale, particularly policies aimed at supporting the early childhood education workforce.

Gerard Robinson is a professor of practice in public policy and law at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the School of Law. His areas of expertise are K-12 and higher education, criminal justice reform, race in American institutions, and the role of nonprofit organizations in civil society.

Kelli Bird is a research associate professor of public policy at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Her research focuses on policies and strategies aimed to improve postsecondary education and workforce outcomes, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sarah Turner is University Professor of economics, education and public policy at University of Virginia and the Souder Family Endowed Professor. Much of her research focuses on post-secondary education, where she explores the intersection of education and economics policies.

Dan Player is a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. His research focuses on issues in education policy. His work has examined questions such as how teacher ability is recognized and rewarded in schools, whether teacher performance predicts turnover, and how teachers respond to working conditions.

Lucy Bassett is a professor of practice in public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  Bassett is an expert in children, caregivers, and communities in humanitarian and development contexts. Over her 15 year career, Bassett has worked with governments in low- and middle-income countries to expand access to quality education, nutrition and social protection services, particularly for poor and marginalized children and families.

Noah Myung is an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is an experimental and behavioral economist with research interests in game theory, organizational economics, and financial economics. Myung’s current research deals with equilibrium selection in coordination games as well as information sharing between competitors

Ruhm’s recent research has focused on the role of government policies in helping parents with young children balance the competing needs of work and family life, and on examining how various aspects of health are produced – including the growth and sources of drug poisoning deaths in the United States, the rise in obesity and the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health.

Derek Wu is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Wu’s research interests lie in labor and public economics, with focusing on poverty and inequality, the effects of government programs, and the economics of education.