Nafij is an economic analyst at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Division of Insurance and Research (DIR) where he works in a collaborative team focused on economic conditions and risks at the national and regional level. Prior to joining the FDIC, Nafij worked as an actuary at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) where he worked on the valuation of pension plans. He has an interest in financial markets, healthcare, life after formal work, and the broader interaction of laws and public policy.

He holds an M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in Mathematics and Political Science from Queens College, City University of New York.

Hi, my name is Caroline Carrington. I graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019 with a BA in Economics. In my time in undergrad, I pursued a career in hospitality, completing an internship in the Global Finance Department in Marriott International’s corporate office. After graduation I was accepted into Marriott Voyagers leadership and management program and worked briefly at the College Park Hotel and Conference Center.

Currently I am assisting on a government contract working for the Department of Homeland Security and was recently recognized as our corporate office’s Employee of the Quarter. As a recent graduate I know how tough it can be navigating the job market right out of college, especially during a global pandemic.

Maria is an economics specialist in the Central America Department at the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB) in Washington, DC, where she held other positions, such as regional economist in the Andean Countries Department and economics consultant at the Fiscal Management Department. Previously, she worked as senior economist in the Research Department at BBVA bank in Peru, and as economic analyst at the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Peru.

Maria holds a Masters of Professional Studies in Applied Economics from University of Maryland, College Park and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She also holds a certification in Statistics and Data Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Mary is a Principal and Senior Economist at ndp | analytics. Mary builds strong partnerships with ndp’s clients to understand their bottom-line objectives and approaches her research from the mindset of its target audience. She focuses on uniting rigorous quantitative analysis and effective communication to create research materials that are truly user-friendly and drive home key objectives. Additionally, she helps clients to seamlessly integrate research findings into advocacy and communication campaigns. Her work in the areas of innovation, e-commerce, online lending, veterans, education, and healthcare costs has been nationally recognized. In addition to client research, Mary’s responsibilities include managing research analyst teams and public relations.

Before joining ndp analytics, Mary was an account executive at the Kellen Company where she provided executive-level management, including government affairs and strategic consulting, to trade associations in the payments and food-business industries. She holds an M.A. in Applied Economics from the University of Maryland and an B.A. in International Relations and French from State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo. Mary serves on the leadership council of Upwardly Global, an organization committed to integrating skilled immigrants and refugees into the U.S. professional workforce.

Danny Gardner is the Social Intelligence Lead, US Digital Analytics at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a multi-national pharmaceutical company, where he is responsible for building a world-class social intelligence capability. While his responsibilities are constantly evolving, he regularly executes social listening, data analytics, and business intelligence reporting across GSK’s world-renowned consumer healthcare brands, such as Advil and Sensodyne, to inform and drive their enterprise digital marketing strategy. Previously, he held the same role at Pfizer where he was acquired as part of the $12B consumer healthcare joint venture between them and GSK. Danny began his full-time career with W2O Group, an integrated healthcare marketing and communications agency, where he held cross-functional roles in data science, social listening, market research, and applied analytics, all while pursuing his MBA.

As an undergrad, he completed several internships in applied economics, including stints at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of the Treasury, building many of the analytical and problem-solving skills that he would use to pivot into the world of social media. He is heavily involved in industry as a member of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), Association of National Advertisers (ANA), The Ad Club of New York, and the Market Research Society (MRS). In 2021, he will join the board of directors at The Social Intelligence Lab and Social Media Day Philadelphia. Danny holds a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park and an MBA in Business Analytics & Marketing from American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Ankita Goel graduated from the master’s program in 2019. While in school, she worked as an academic tutor and assisted undergraduate and graduate athletes in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics. Ankita was born in Delhi, India and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Delhi before moving to United States for graduate school at the University of Maryland.

She currently works as a Research Consultant with International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group. She is passionate about microeconomics and wants to contribute her career to improve livelihoods of people globally. Being a data enthusiast, she worked on household surveys of 60 emerging economies to understand the housing conditions people live in and is currently working on a research project to fill in the housing market gap in these economies. She also interned with United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and researched on mutual funds for investments by the team, which further help pay off pensions to employees who spent their life working for the UN.

Dr. Robert Kulick is an Associate Director at NERA Economic Consulting and an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University Law School. He has extensive experience advising clients involved in complex litigation, merger reviews, regulatory proceedings, and high-stakes public policy debates. Much of his work focuses on innovative industries and the high-tech sector, and he is a member of NERA’s Communications, Media, and Internet Practice.
Dr. Kulick has assisted clients in merger reviews at the Department of Justice, the Federal Communications Commission, and state public utility commissions. He has supported numerous clients involved in litigation, including acting as both a liability and damages expert. In labor and employment matters, Dr. Kulick has developed particular expertise in using econometric analysis to evaluate the effects of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, entry of new firms, and competition on labor market outcomes, including employment, wages, and productivity.

Patrick attended the University of Maryland as both a graduate and undergraduate. He first studied Accounting and International Business as an undergraduate, and had been working for 6 years as a financial analyst before enrolling in UMD's Masters in Applied Economics program. He had decided that he was more interested in policy analysis and wanted to change his career path. 

While still enrolled in the program, a member of the economics department's faculty helped Patrick join Resources for the Future (RFF) as a Research Assistant, working on projects related to Environmental and Natural Resources Policy. Since 2019 he has been an Economist in the US Department of the Interior's Office of Policy Analysis. Patrick works on economic analyses across several topics in federal public lands management such as the conservation of protected lands, the Endangered Species Act, energy and mineral extraction, the outdoor recreation economy, and natural resource damage assessment.

Danno Lemu is an analyst at HR&A Advisors, a mission-driven economic development consulting firm. In his role, Danno supports local government clients in the D.C.-region develop strategies to build more equitable, resilient communities. Prior to joining HR&A, Danno was a Community Organizer in Washington D.C. with the Industrial Areas Foundation, where he worked alongside the District’s most vulnerable populations to advocate for the creation and preservation of affordable housing across the city. Previously, Danno also worked as a Senior Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In this role, he conducted rigorous quantitative analysis on topics relating to household finance, placing particular emphasis on differences in economic outcomes and policy impacts by race, income, geography, and other demographic factors.

A Prince George’s County native, Danno is deeply invested in supporting the local communities surrounding the University and currently runs an after-school professional development program for youth living in Hyattsville, MD.

Danno is also a member of the Urban Land Institute. Danno graduated from the University of Maryland in 2019, with a B.S. in Economics, and minors in Statistics and Business Analytics.

Adewale A. Maye '18 is a Policy and Research Analyst for the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE) at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC. Previously, he held positions as a Policy Analyst and Research Assistant at Center for Law and Social Policy as well as a Research intern at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He has a strong background in labor economics, social and economic policy research, and statistical analysis. 

Adewale has a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Applied Economics and Data Science at the George Washington University. 

Ellen McGeoch is the Senior Research & Operations Manager for NeuroFlow, a healthcare technology company enabling behavioral health access and engagement across the continuum of care. Prior to joining NeuroFlow, Ellen was a researcher in higher education focusing on institutional research, student success and retention. Ellen transitioned to the healthcare sector in 2015, conducting and managing health services research at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania where her work focused on the choice architecture of online health exchanges. In her current position, Ellen focuses on government operations and is a subject matter expert in non-dilutive government funding for small businesses.

Ellen is a peer-reviewed author and has presented her work in various settings including AcademyHealth and Stanford MedicineX. She often volunteers her time to help fellow entrepreneurs as an expert reviewer for the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research program, and has served as an invited judge and mentor for healthcare hackathons from MIT Hacking Medicine, Stanford and OHSU. Ellen holds a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland, MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, and an MS in Statistics, Measurement, Assessment and Research Technology from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Jillian McGrath is an Legislative Aide for Majority Leader Charles Schumer where she covers tax and trade policy. Previously she worked as an Economic Policy Advisor at the center-left think tank Third Way in Washington, D.C. She completed her undergraduate degree in Economics and Government & Politics in 2017 and her Master’s in Applied Economics in December 2018. While completing her graduate degree, she worked at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, two think tanks focused on domestic economic policy research.

After finishing her Master’s, Jillian worked at Insight Policy Research, a federal contract research firm, performing quantitative analysis on anti-poverty programs such as SNAP, WIC, and TANF. Today, Jillian advises on economic policy broadly from unemployment insurance to protective tariffs. She has had her work featured in Politico, the Washington Post, and Axios.

Andrew Olinger is a Budget Analyst with The Ohio State University (OSU) Department of Athletics. He oversees one of the largest budgets in intercollegiate athletics. He is responsible for the departments year-end financial projections, financial analysis, and long-range plan. Prior to his role as Budget Analyst, he helped manage travel for the department and reconciling cash advances for the department totaling over one million dollars per year.

Prior to OSU, he worked as Director of Basketball Operations Intern with the Women’s Basketball Program in College Park helping manage all aspects of travel and team operations. Andrew earned a B.A  in Economics from the University of Maryland in 2014 and an M.S. in Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina in 2016.

Madeline (Mattie) Roesler ‘18 is a Policy Research Specialist on the Policy and Government Affairs team at Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America. She researches and informs policy on food access and nutrition security, tech policy, and labor issues, in addition to building external academic and non-profit partnerships.  

Mattie graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Economics, Cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and completed the Honors Humanities program. Her favorite classes at the University of Maryland included Urban Economics, Econometrics, and Current American Economic Policy. These classes instilled a passion for analyzing equitable and efficient public policy. Her senior year, she spent a semester researching the impact of a transportation policy on affordable housing in Minneapolis, which led her to a policy internship for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In recognition of this achievement, the UMD Economics Department gave Mattie the Martin Moskowitz Award at graduation. After graduation, Mattie joined ICF International as a Public Policy Researcher. At ICF Mattie discovered an interest in nutrition and labor policy through her work with DOL, FDA, and USDA programs.

Mattie’s current role combines her passion for research, her relationship building skills, and her desire to make nutrition accessible to everyone. Most of all, she likes talking about food every day. Who doesn’t?

Long time Maryland resident and Terrapin, Mr. Scott graduated with a B.A. in Economics and M.P.S in Applied Economics both from University of Maryland. He has a strong background in finance and accounting, as well as economics, which has aided him in his varied careers. From Financial Management Analyst in the Department of Defense, to Advisory Consultant for Deloitte, to Economist at Department of Labor, Mr. Scott has worked his way around the DC area to finally find his way back home to economics.

In recent years he has begun volunteering more with the University of Maryland faculty to welcome new students to the Applied Economics graduate program, and is now looking forward to working with undergraduate students as well to help them be the best Terrapins in Economics they can be. 

Natasha Ghatak Singh is an experienced leader across multiple disciplines, ranging from strategy and operations, to accounting and finance. She’s advised executive level clients in a variety of industries such as banking, financial services, travel and leisure, and retail, and has a keen eye and understanding of what it takes to grow and scale a business.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Natasha is passionate about social ventures, including volunteering in strategy consulting for nonprofit entities in education, health, and the arts.

Natasha graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in economics and from the school’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with a B.S. in finance in 2006. She received her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2013, where she served as her program’s commencement speaker. 

Undergrad: University of Maryland 2007 cum laude Economics and Marketing
Law School: Boston University 2011 cum laude

Eric is a veteran of the financial services industry who utilizes his background in economics, business and law to solve complex challenges. He has worked at a variety of large institutions including PwC, Santander, and State Street and is currently the Director of Operations for the Department of Applied Fintech Research at the Boston Fed.

David is a research analyst at IRS Criminal Investigations where he employs data analysis to optimize lead selection and improve the case development process. His efforts in identifying employment tax fraud have led to thousands of potential criminal leads representing tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue. In addition to generating new criminal cases, he has a diverse range of responsibilities including internal report automation, assisting with field office performance audits, and implementing reorganizational changes.

David is currently detailed to the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Special Advisor in the Office of the Executive Secretary. In this role, David’s team manages the Secretary’s briefing books, working closely with departmental offices on memos and materials prepared for Secretary Yellen, and is responsible for facilitating the approval of proposed and final regulations for publication in the Federal Register.

He holds an M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of Maryland and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Central Florida. As a student at UMD, he worked as an intern with the Economics Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Outside of work, David is an avid cyclist and an amateur baker.