Student Researcher Kiara Hernandez is a PhD candidate in Government at Harvard University and a James M. and Cathleen D. Stone PhD Scholar in Inequality and Wealth Concentration at the Harvard Kennedy School. Broadly, her academic research explores the intersection of ethnorace, class, wealth inequality, and intergroup conflict in the contemporary U.S., with a focus on collective action in low-wage workplaces. Kiara graduated with a B.A. in International Relations and German from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. Before graduate school, she spent two years as a predoctoral research specialist in the Emerging Scholars in Political Science program at Princeton...
Student Researcher Gabriella Aboulafia is a PhD student in the Political Analysis track of Harvard University’s Program in Health Policy. Gaby is interested in how politics shape health policy choices and how federalism creates unequal and racialized policy outcomes, particularly in health insurance coverage policy. At the Shift Project, she’s interested in thinking about differential access to health insurance between and within firms. She has a MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Email: gaboulafia@g.harvard.edu
Student Researcher Charlotte O’Herron is a Doctoral Student in Sociology & Social Policy at Harvard University. Her research interests include labor market inequality, gender, race, and culture. Before starting her Ph.D., Charlotte received a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. Email: charlotteoherron@fas.harvard.edu Publications October 23rd, 2024 Between-firm sorting and parenthood wage gaps in the US service sector Charlotte O’Herron, Daniel Schneider, Kristen Harknett We assess how the distribution of parents across firms contributes to parenthood wage gaps in a low-wage US labor market… March 24th, 2024 Can’t Catch a Break: Intersectional Inequalities at Work Kristen Harknett, Evelyn Bellew, Charlotte...
Student Researcher Esperanza “Espi” Padilla received a B.A. in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her honors thesis investigated the causes and consequences of masking for Autistic adults. She identifies herself as a neurodivergent researcher that does research among neurodivergent and disabled populations. Email: Esperanza.Padilla@ucsf.edu
Student Researcher Nayun Eom is a doctoral student in Sociology at Harvard University. She received her B.A. in Sociology and Economics at Tufts University in 2023. She is broadly interested in the impact of A.I. and automation on the future of work, particularly in the sectors of service work and care work. Email: neom@fas.harvard.edu
Student Researcher Siri Neerchal is a PhD student in sociology & social policy at Harvard University. Their research interests include gender, work, and intersecting inequalities (with a particular focus on LGBTQ and gender-diverse populations). Siri received a B.S. in mathematics and a B.A. in history from the University of Maryland in 2021. Prior to starting graduate school, Siri worked as a Research Fellow at Stanford Law School. Email: sneerchal@g.harvard.edu
Student Researcher David Arbeláez is a PhD student in the Sociology and Social Policy PhD program at Harvard University. He is generally interested in income and wealth inequality as well as intergenerational mobility in the context of higher education and the labor market in the US. Email: darbelaez@g.harvard.edu
Student Researcher Clem Aeppli is a PhD student in the Sociology department at Harvard University, where he studies how the organization of work affects inequality and precarity. His projects deal with widening disparities between workplaces, employment instability at subcontractors, and the historical development of racial economic inequality. Clem works mostly with American and French administrative data — both contemporary and historical — and is interested in the quantitative methods used to understand economic and social life. He received bachelor’s degrees in math and sociology from Brown University. Email: caeppli@g.harvard.edu Website: clemaeppli.github.io Publications March 14th, 2024 IKEA Self-Scheduling Intervention: Baseline Report Daniel Schneider, Kristen Harknett,...
Student Researcher Jeremy is a PhD student in the Sociology Department at Harvard University. He received a B.A. in physics and sociology from Wesleyan University in 2020. From 2022 to 2024 he was a predoctoral fellow at Shift. Prior to joining Shift, Jeremy worked as a Research Professional at the University of Chicago where he studied issues centered around the minimum wage along with other topics in labor economics. Email: jmopsick@hks.harvard.edu Publications IKEA Self-Scheduling Intervention: Baseline Report Daniel Schneider, Kristen Harknett, Jeremy Mopsick, Clem Aeppli In this report, we document the scheduling conditions for IKEA co-workers before the launch...
Student Researcher Dylan is a PhD student in the Sociology and Social Policy PhD program at Harvard University. Dylan Nguyen received a B.A. in Sociology, Statistics, and Social Policy Analysis from Rice University in 2022 where his thesis examined the relationship between neighborhood change and nonprofit organizations. From 2022 to 2024 he was a predoctoral fellow at Shift. Email: dnguyen@hks.harvard.edu Publications August 8th, 2024 Labor market pathways to job quality mobility in the service sector: Evidence from the “Great Resignation” Tyler Woods, Dylan Nguyen, Daniel Schneider, Kristen Harknett We draw on new panel data collected from 8600 hourly service...