Center Alumni

Caroline Gao was a Research Assistant and Program Manager for the Center. She has a Master’s in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government.

Morghan Transue was the Center’s academic writer and editor.  As a former doctoral student at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government, her research interests included technology diffusion, energy policy diffusion, and infrastructure resilience, with particular focus on the US electricity system.

Samuel Heller was a Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Center for the Spring 2021 semester. Samuel was a senior undergraduate student at George Mason University’s Honors College, with a major in Government and International Policy and a minor in Economics. He has research experience with George Mason University, working on a project in summer 2020 titled Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older Adults. He also worked on three political campaigns on the national, state, and local levels. Samuel grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and has lived in the commonwealth for most of his life. 

Daniel Grimaldi was a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center and has obtained a Ph.D. from George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Before joining Schar School doctoral program, Daniel worked for the Brazilian Government for almost nine years, first as a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), and then as an economist at the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).

Lauren N. McCarthy was the Program Manager and Researcher for the Center, and a doctoral candidate at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Lauren left the Center to take a position with the Shared-Use Mobility Center in Los Angeles while she completes her dissertation. Her research interests include micro-mobility and the policy process, innovation, Sustainable Smart Cities, emerging technologies, and technological diffusion.

Dr. Lisardo Bolaños is a PhD graduate from George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. He was a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center from 2014-2019. His research interests include industrial policy, labor policies, and transaction cost economics.

Victor Aragones was a Graduate Research Affiliate in the Center. He is also a doctoral student at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. His research interests include public-private partnerships and transportation economics. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Motoki Murayama was a visiting scholar in the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy from 2016-2019. He is from NEXCO-Central, a Japanese major expressway company, and as a representative of the company, conducts research at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.  NEXCO-Central is seeking opportunities to enter and contribute to the P3 market in North America by using its technological capabilities and experience. Therefore, Moto is interested in US P3 policy, and the demands and needs of P3 players. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Australian National University.

Hyun Ju (Monica) Kim was a Graduate Research Associate at the Center. She has obtained a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Her research interests include safety net programs, gender equality, and household decision-making models.

Eric Childress was a Graduate Research Associate in the Center from 2018-2019. He is Public Policy Ph.D. student at the Schar School of Policy and Government. His research interests include international development, international trade, financialization, and public finance.

Vinh Mai was a Center Research Associate while studying Economics at the George Mason Honors College. He has earned a master’s degree in Infrastructure Investment and Finance from University College London.

Susan A. Woods served as the Administrative Support Manager for the Center until November 2016 when she became the Office Manager for the George Mason University Department of History and Art History.  Sue received her MS in Project Management from George Washington University and earned a BS in biology from Clarkson University (with distinction).

Dr. Jeong Yun (“JK”) Kweun served as a Graduate Research Associate in the Center while she was a PhD candidate at George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. JK received her PhD in 2017. She is currently a Deputy Director at VDOT’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships.

Dr. Yang (Chloe) Yang was a Graduate Research Affiliate in the Center. She was a doctoral student at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Her research interests include public-private partnerships, program evaluation, and performance management. She received her B.S. in Financial Management from Renmin University of China and her Master of Public Administration from George Mason University.

Jenny Henderson served as the Administrative Support Manager from its founding until March 2014 when her family moved from the Washington region.

Lawrence Heller is a former Research Associate in the Center.  He studied in George Mason University’s Transportation Policy, Operations, and Logistics (TPOL) Master’s program. His background is in non-profit fundraising, but had long-held interest in transportation infrastructure brought him to the program. Lawrence holds a B.S. in Political Science from SUNY Oneonta and an M.P.P from George Mason University.

Nathan Dorfman collaborated with the Center through George Mason University’s Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, under the mentorship of Professor Jonathan Gifford. He contributed to a case study on Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor and researched Northern Virginia’s transit-oriented development. Dorfman was a Master’s of Public Administration candidate at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) where he majored in urban & regional affairs with a minor in public management, and worked as a graduate assistant with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Metropolitan Studies.

Meredith Jackson Morgan was a Graduate Research Associate in the Center and a Ph.D. student at the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil Environment and Infrastructure Engineering in the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University.

John Gudgel was a Graduate Research Associate at the Center. He has a Ph.D. in Public Policy with interests in cybersecurity, Internet policy, eCommerce, transportation, and global commons issues (including Antarctica, space and global spectrum allocation) from George Mason Univerity.

Dr. Kyung Min Lee is a Ph.D. graduate from the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. His research interests include Labor Policy, Health Policy, Applied Micro-Econometrics, and Program Evaluation. Before joining the Ph.D. program, he worked in the Korea Institute of Finance, Seoul, Republic of Korea. He conducted research for the International & Macroeconomic Finance Division on Korea’s experience of curbing inflation during industrialization and on the Tri-party Repurchase Agreement Infrastructure Reform.

Dr. Elle Yiying Wang obtained her Ph.D. from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in 2018 and was a visiting student at Columbia University. She was awarded a Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship by the Social Science Research Council in 2013. Her research areas include African politics, China-Africa relations, and social identities and networks.

Dr. Venkataramana Yanamandra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (honors) in Economics from Delhi University, Delhi, India in 2000. She received her Master of Arts in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2002. She was employed for 3.5 years as a researcher at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi after which she worked for Deloitte Touche and Tohmatsu in their Research Division. She briefly worked as a manager at the Fixed Income Group of of Infosys BPO in 2008. She graduated in 2014 with her Ph.D. from the Schar School of Policy and Government. She worked as a Graduate Research Assistant while pursuing her Ph.D.

Dr. Tameka Porter earned her Ph.D. in 2015 from the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Her area of study is the efficacy of affirmative action programs in the most selective American post-secondary institutions. Tameka received her Bachelor of Science at the University of South Carolina and Master of Arts at American University.

Chang Kwon was a graduate research assistant at the GMU Center for Transportation Policy from August 2011 to May 2013. He worked on P3 case study projects and wrote the Virginia Mid-Town Tunnel and Florida I-595 Projects reports. Prior to working at GMU, he worked for the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He is primarily interested in research about the impact of government activities on social and individual well-being. Chang Kwon holds a B.A. in Economics and Sociology from the University of Virginia and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Georgetown University.

Tim Hurley is a Research Assistant with the Center and is an M.P.P. student at the Schar School. His primary research interests include infrastructure generally, public-private partnerships, and transportation economics. Prior to joining the Center, Tim worked in several capacities in the statistical information and geospatial sectors. He received his history and political science (B.A.) degree at Washington College, in Maryland.

Nobuhiko Daito, Ph.D., is a Research Affiliate with the Center and a transport specialist with The World Bank. He recently graduated from the Schar School where he studied under Dr. Jonathan Gifford, the Center’s Director. His research interests include infrastructure financing, transportation policy, public finance, public-private partnerships, spatial analysis, and non-motorized transportation modes.  He received his graduate degree in urban and regional planning (M.U.R.P.)  from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Daito’s most recent publications can be found here.

William Barker is an Undergraduate Research Assistant with the Center and is studying public administration, with an emphasis in public policy, at the Schar School. William has extensive experience with the United States Army Reserves and the Civil Air Patrol. Outside of his position with the Center, and in service to the university, William additionally coordinates the on-campus LGBTQ+ Resources Center and Queer Student Leadership Council. You can contact William at wbarker3@gmu.edu.

Zhenhua Chen, Ph.D., is a Research Affiliate with the Center and an Associate Professor of regional and city planning at the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University. He received his Ph.D. from the Schar School where he studied under Dr. Jonathan Gifford, the Center’s Director. Dr. Chen’s research interests include infrastructure planning and policy, regional science, risk and resilience, and big data analytics. Prior to joining the Ohio State University, he was selected as a Fellow with the International Road Federation (IRF) and with the Eno Center for Transportation. He also completed postdoctoral research with the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events at the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. His most recent publications can be found here.