CRB Nexus Featured Cohort

Together we translate evidence into action and foster the next generation of public scholarship aimed at identifying and solving policy issues.

The 2024 Nexus featured cohort includes up-and-coming California public researchers recommended by our partners. They will attend each CRB Nexus event and participate in featured cohort workshops led by partner organizations on topics such as accessing local and state government documents, op-ed dos and don’t’s, policy pitching and writing, and evaluating claims in the social and health sciences.

Meet the CRB Nexus 2025 Featured Cohort

Desiree R. Delgadillo

University of California, Los Angeles

Policy Areas

  • Health
  • Science & Technology
  • Higher Education

Keywords

  • Health Psychology
  • Brain-Gut Microbiome
  • Positive Emotion
  • Stress
  • Mother-Child

Gabriela Gonzalez

San José State University

Policy Areas

  • Higher Education
  • Human Services
  • Public Safety

Keywords

  • Immigration Policy
  • Families
  • Racial/Ethnic Disparities
  • Prisons & Corrections

Ana Laura Herrera

University of California, Irvine

Policy Areas

  • Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Economy
  • Health
  • Housing

Keywords

  • Health Disparities
  • Equitable Evaluation
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Policy Implementation
  • Tobacco Control

Wei Kang

University of California, Riverside

Policy Areas

  • Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Housing

Keywords

  • Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
  • Neighborhood Effect
  • Emergency Rental Assistance
  • Forced Displacement
  • Housing Insecurity

California State University, Monterey Bay

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Science & Technology

Keywords

  • Regime Shifts
  • Kelp Forests
  • Stereo-Video
  • Urchin Barrens
  • Grazing

Mehdi Nemati

University of California, Riverside

Policy Areas

  • Utilities & Energy
  • Environment & Natural Resources

Keywords

  • Water Resources
  • Climate Change and Water
  • Land Use, Agriculture
  • Urban Water Utilities

Shogher Ohannessian

California Policy Lab

Policy Areas

  • Human Services
  • Labor & Employment

Keywords

  • Public Assistance Programs
  • Social Safety Net
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • CalFresh
  • Supplemental Security Income

Hannah M. Palmer

University of California, Davis

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Utilities & Energy
  • Science & Technology

Keywords

  • Climate Change
  • Coastal Resilience
  • Climate Resilience
  • Wildfire
  • Hypoxia and Ocean Acidification

Laceé N. Pappas

University of California, Irvine

Policy Areas

  • Higher Education
  • Public Safety

Keywords

  • Corrections
  • Program Evaluation
  • Punishment Models
  • Reentry
  • Criminal Justice Policy

Roberto Rivera

University of California, Riverside

Policy Areas

  • Public Safety
  • Environment & Natural Resources

Keywords

  • Environmental Justice
  • Climate Change
  • Policing
  • Public Safety
  • Criminology

Odilka Santiago

University of San Diego

Policy Areas

  • General Government
  • Housing
  • Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Human Services
  • Labor & Employment
  • Public Safety

Keywords

  • Housing Justice
  • Homeless Shelters
  • Policing
  • Critical Criminology

Meet the CRB Nexus 2024 Featured Cohort

Dominic Bednar

University of California, Irvine

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Utilities & Energy

Keywords

  • Energy Justice
  • Energy Poverty
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Just Energy Transitions
  • Spatial Analysis

Annie Benn

Congratulations to Dr. Benn now at Colgate University, NY

Policy Areas

  • General Government

Keywords

  • Regulation
  • Bureaucracy

Erika Brown

California Policy Lab

Policy Areas

  • Health
  • Human Services

Keywords

  • Socioeconomic Adversity
  • Pandemic Recovery
  • CalFresh
  • Cash Transfers
  • Population Health

Carolyn M. Coles

Congratulation to Dr. Coles now at the Crime & Justice Policy Lab, MD

Policy Areas

  • General Government
  • Public Safety

Keywords

  • Evidence-Based Policing
  • Police Training
  • Public Safety Systems
  • Racism & Public Health Disparities
  • Public Policy

Vanshika Fotedar

University of Southern California

Policy Areas

  • Economy
  • Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Utilities & Energy

Keywords

  • Parking
  • Energy Storage
  • Electricity
  • Climate Policy
  • Housing

Savannah Hunter

University of California, Berkeley
Center for Labor Research and Education (Labor Center)

Policy Areas

  • Economy
  • Human Services
  • Labor & Employment

Keywords

  • Labor Policy
  • Work Scheduling
  • Inequality and Low-Wage Work
  • Wages and Compensation
  • Worker Health and Safety

Lauren Kelly

University of Southern California

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Utilities & Energy

Keywords

  • Water politics
  • Water infrastructure
  • Indigenous Peoples’ Histories and Policy
  • Community Partnerships
  • Land Management

Stacey Livingstone

Homelessness Hub
University of California, San Diego

Policy Areas

  • Health
  • Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Human Services

Keywords

  • Homelessness
  • Affordable Housing
  • Housing Justice

Ginny Emiko Oshiro

California State University, San Diego

Policy Areas

  • Public Safety

Keywords

  • Prison
  • Incarceration
  • Rehabilitation
  • Reentry
  • Evidence-Based

Alana Haynes Stein

Congratulations Dr. Haynes Stein now at Creighton University, NE

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Higher Education
  • Human Services

Keywords

  • Poverty
  • Food Assistance
  • Environmental Justice
  • Public Scholarship
  • Food Security

Julia Szinai

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Policy Areas

  • Environment & Natural Resources
  • Housing, Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Utilities & Energy

Keywords

  • Electricity Systems
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Energy-Water Nexus
  • Electric Vehicles

Christopher Towler

California State University, Sacramento

Policy Areas

  • Economy
  • General Government
  • Higher Education

Keywords

  • Public Opinion
  • Racial and Ethnic Politics
  • Urban Politics
  • Social Movements
  • Political Ideology