2024–25

2023–24

2022–23

Heather K. Olson Beal is a professor in the James I. Perkins College of Education’s Department of Education Studies at Stephen F. Austin State University. She earned her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana State University in 2008. Beal teaches courses in educational foundations, family and community engagement, and educational policy and advocacy. (Fellowship Placement: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX))

Elizabethe Payne is founder and director of the Queering Education Research Institute, which bridges gaps between research, policy, and practice in support of gender and sexual minority students in K-12 schools. She earned a PhD in social and philosophical foundations of education at the University of Houston in 2002. Payne’s research explores LGBTQ-inclusive education policy, educator experiences working with gender and sexual minority students, and the school experiences of LGBTQ+ young people. (Fellowship Placement: House Committee on Education and Labor - Policy Staff)

2021–22

Carly Champagne is a SRCD/AAAS Federal Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She earned her doctorate in education from Temple University in 2019. Her research focuses on teacher-student interactions, qualitative methods, and structural barriers to child and family well-being. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM))

Dominiqua Griffin is an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Cancer Institute and CEO and Founder of Black Women PhDs. She earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision, with a dual title in comparative and international education from Pennsylvania State University in 2018. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Christopher A. Coons (DE))

2019–20

Carolina Silva Martinez is Executive Director of Scholarships A-Z. She earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies and social thought at the Washington State University College of Education. Her research has focused on both immigrant students and Native American students. (Fellowship Placement: House Committee on Education and Labor - Majority Staff)

Wei-Ling Sun is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations at The University of Texas at El Paso. She earned her Ph.D. in educational policy from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018. Her research examines the social and political dimensions of discipline policy reforms and culturally responsive school leadership. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Amy Klobochar (MN))

2018–19

Rachel Feldman is a senior research scientist at NORC where she studies educational policy enactment and organizational responses, including individual, school, district, and governmental responses to policy implementation. She earned her Ph.D. in educational policy studies in 2017, with a concentration in policy studies, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Bob Casey (PA))

Kendrick Davis is Associate Professor of Research at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. He earned his Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania in spring 2018. Prior to joining USC, he served as the Vice President for Policy Research for the Campaign for College Opportunity. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Kamala Harris (CA))

2017–18

Jennifer Ayscue is research director for the Initiative for School Integration at The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at the University of California, Los Angeles. Ayscue earned her Ph.D. in education from UCLA in 2016. Her research examines how policy shapes the opportunities that students are able to access, and seeks to both understand and impact patterns of inequality and segregation that persist in schools across the nation. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Tina Smith (MN))

Paul Rubin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Utah. He received his Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia in 2017. Rubin’s higher education policy research focuses on federal financial aid policies, institutional test-optional admissions policies, and state-level policies designed to impact college completion. (Fellowship Placement: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA))

Zewelanji Serpell is an associate professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Howard University in 2002. Zewelanji’s research focuses on the learning experiences of African–American students in school and examines sociocultural processes that promote or inhibit learning. (Fellowship Placement: Rep. Bobby Scott (VA))

Kathryn Wentzel is a professor of developmental science specialization and educational psychology specialization at the University of Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in psychological studies in education from Stanford University in 1987. Her research examines the social correlates and antecedents of adolescent motivation and achievement. (Fellowship Placement: Rep Tim Ryan (OH))

2016–17

Jenna R. Sablan is an Assistant Research Professor at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce in the McCourt School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on college access, higher education policy, and K–12 to higher education transition. Sablan has a Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. (Fellowship Placement: Senate Budget Committee - Sen. Bernie Sanders)