GWIPP Research Assistants
Daniel Coogan
Dan Coogan is a PhD student with a concentration in Race, Ethnicity, and Public Policy. He conducts property tax relief research for GWIPP's project with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He received his BA in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, and his MPP from George Washington University.
Stefanie Costa
Matt Darst
Matt Darst attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He double-majored in Economics and Political Science. He is currently contributing to GWIPP’s DC Economic Competitiveness project and GWIPP’s ongoing project with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. For both of these, he is completing literature reviews, collecting and analyzing data, and providing feedback on the methods used in precedential research so that GWIPP’s researchers may improve upon those methods. He is working with GWIPP Director Hal Wolman on the DC Competitiveness project, and Charlotte Kirschner on the Lincoln project, while also completing his second year of coursework in GW's Economics PhD program.
Sarah Ficenec
Sarah Ficenec is a PhD student specializing in Urban Policy. She is working with Dr. Hal Wolman on a project concerning regional economic resiliency. Sarah most recently worked as Associate Director for Policy and Communications at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and remains affiliated with the Center as a Senior Fellow for Urban Policy and a mentor in its Presidential Fellows Program. She has a Masters in Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and history from Creighton University
Erica Harbatkin
Erica Harbatkin is in her third year of the MPP program, where she is concentrating in education policy. She is working with Prof. Michael Wiseman on evaluation work for various Social Security Administration initiatives, including the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND) and the Work Incentives Simplification Pilot (WISP). She is also working with Prof. Wiseman on a contract with the European Commission dealing with evaluation planning for the European Social Fund (ESF). Before joining GWIPP, she worked as a reporter for daily newspapers in New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and North Carolina. She received her B.S. in print and multimedia journalism from Emerson College.
Diana Hincapie
Diana Hincapie is a PhD student with a concentration in urban and social policy. She is currently working with Drs. Hal Wolman and Garry Young on a project regarding fiscal illusion of the property tax. Before joining GWIPP, she worked as a Junior Professional Associate at the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit of the World Bank. She also worked as a Teaching Assistant and as a Research Assistant at the Center of Economic Development Studies (CEDE) from Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia. Diana earned a Master’s Degree in Economics with a concentration in Public Policy and Social Economy and a B.Sc. in Economics from Los Andes University, Bogotá, Colombia.
Jeremy Larrieu
Jeremy Larrieu is an Economics PhD candidate with concentrations in Econometrics and Industrial Organization. He is working on evaluating the impact of State solar incentives on the installation and adoption of solar energy in the U.S, and various other projects for Dr. Andrea Sarzynski. Prior to coming to GW, Jeremy worked as a senior analyst for a Washington D.C. consulting firm in energy markets. He obtained an M.A. in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia.
Lisa Lowry
Dan Malato
Dan Malato is a Master’s student in Political Science with a concentration in American Politics. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009. He is currently working on the Significant Features of the Property Tax project for GWIPP.
Kari Nelson
Kari Nelson is a PhD student focusing on Program Evaluation and, in particular, the evaluation of International Development projects. Her previous work has focused primarily on Africa. She received her MA in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University. With GWIPP, she is currently working with Garry Young on a research project regarding the diffusion of policies restricting the restraint of pregnant prisoners with shackles during childbirth.
Geoffrey Propheter
Travis St. Clair
Travis St. Clair is a PhD candidate with a concentration in Public Budgeting and Finance. He is currently working with Professor Wolman on a project regarding regional economic resilience. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Harvard University and an Ed.M. from Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
Eric Stokan
Eric Stokan is a first-year Ph.D. student in Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in urban policy, focusing on regional and municipal economic development, at the George Washington University. He is currently working on the Significant Features of the Property Tax project with a focus on incentives for economic development. Prior to joining GWIPP, Eric served as Survey Lab Manager at the University of Baltimore after heading the Economic Development Unit at the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University. He graduated from Wayne State University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in political science.