We celebrated the accomplishments of five graduates who earned their PhDs in Public Policy from the Brooks School in 2025: Giulia Olivero, Katherine Sadowski, Yongxin Shang, Jenna Shelton, and Meredith Welch. Each completed a dissertation that pushes the boundaries of what we know about critical policy issues spanning education, labor markets, the foster care system, and caring for the elderly. They have carved out their own paths as researchers and educators and are launching their careers with academic positions at top institutions across the country.
"The Brooks PhD in Public Policy trains students across disciplinary perspectives with the tools to produce cutting-edge research on our most pressing policy questions. We take great pride in training the next generation of research scholars-and are thrilled to celebrate the achievements of our 2025 PhD graduates," said Brooks School Senior Associate Dean of Research Kelly Musick.
Yongxin Shang
Hometown: Tianjin, China
Research Focus: My dissertation examines how older adults mobilize resources in their social networks to care for them in later life, and how different caregiving arrangements have implications for their well-being. I found that there are significant inequalities in caregiving arrangements for older adults. Particularly, socially disadvantaged older adults often face more challenges in forming and maintaining their care networks, thus being subject to more unmet care needs.
Next step: Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale
Reflection: Compared to PhD programs in other fields such as Economics or Sociology, a PhD in Public Policy often offers more flexibility in course selection and a more customized development path. So I think it's especially important to know what you want to do with your degree and to be proactive in designing your own PhD journey. My advice is to find a policy-relevant research question that you are really curious and passionate about - one that can motivate you to keep going even during the toughest phases of the PhD journey. For me, that question is: Who will care for older adults in aging societies?
Meredith Welch
Hometown: Grand Blanc, Michigan, USA
Research Focus: A main piece of my dissertation research studies how falling behind on student loan payments affects student loan borrowers' access to credit in the future. Student loans, unlike other forms of consumer credit, are not dischargeable in bankruptcy and the federal government has unique levers for collecting on defaulted debt, leading to potentially severe financial consequences for borrowers. I use a unique feature of the student loan system - random assignment of borrowers to student loan servicers - to study the effect of servicers on default and to isolate the effect of default on borrowers' credit outcomes.
Next Step: Postdoctoral Fellow at American University
Reflection: One of the most meaningful parts of my PhD experience has been the strong sense of community among graduate students in the PAM/Public Policy program (the Brooks School didn't exist when I first arrived!). I'm very grateful for my cohort who have been a constant source of friendship and support throughout the many ups and downs of the PhD program - especially during the pandemic years. I'm also especially thankful for the mentorship and generosity of cohorts above me, who helped me navigate everything from course selection and advisor relationships to research ideas and the job market. This culture of mutual support has made my experience easier and more fulfilling.
Jenna Shelton
Hometown: Los Angeles, California, USA
Research Focus: My dissertation uses demographic, econometric, and qualitative approaches to examine how under-represented youth in foster care are impacted by social services and kinship care policies. One of my chapters examines the effect of kinship care subsidies in foster care on the process of entry through exit. I was surprised to find that the subsidies have no effect on foster care reporting, substantiation, initial placement, and permanency arrangement. These results suggest that there are more opportunities for policies to effectively encourage kinship arrangements for foster-care-involved youth.
Next Step: Postdoctoral Fellow at Washington University
Reflection: I'm in a unique position because I am a child welfare researcher with an interest in evidence-based policymaking who also has lived experience in the child welfare system. Pairing rigorous research with narratives of lived experiences is quite important for sparking policy change. There is certainly more opportunity to involve people with lived experience in research to help capture the range of human experiences. I'm hopeful that this approach will spark more collaborative research and decision-making processes for child welfare policy.
Katherine Sadowski
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Research Focus: My research looked at how raising the minimum wage affects early childcare businesses. I found that when the minimum wage goes up, childcare providers are more likely to close, especially in low-income areas. The debate around minimum wage often focuses on improving pay for workers, which is important, but my research highlights potential unintended consequences-higher wages may make it harder for some childcare businesses to stay open, which could reduce access to care for families who need it most.
Next Step: Assistant Professor of Education, Stanford University
Reflection: Your PhD journey (and future career) is shaped by the network you build. Engage with your peers and professors at Cornell, but also seek opportunities beyond the university, especially during the summers. Gain experience working with nonprofits, think tanks, and government agencies to understand how different groups are thinking about the problems you're interested in studying.
Giulia Olivero
Hometown: Cherasco, Italy
Research Focus: My research is in labor economics, and I focus on understanding the causes of child penalties in employment, that is, the tendency for women to reduce their labor supply after having children, compared to men. One of the most surprising things I've found is just how large these penalties still are, even today. Equally striking is how little we know about what policies or social changes can effectively close this gender gap.
Next Step: Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA
Reflection: Having some prior work experience in policy, or even just a clear interest in a specific policy area, can be really helpful in navigating a PhD in Public Policy. It gives you a better sense of direction and helps you make more intentional choices early on. Coming straight from school, I often felt a bit more adrift than some of my peers who had spent years working in policy settings. It took me some time to figure out what kind of research profile I wanted to build, and in hindsight, that clarity would have made the early stages of the program a little smoother.
The Brooks PhD in Public Policy
The Brooks School PhD program combines disciplinary training and rigorous empirical methods with expertise in one or more substantive policy area. The program's 30+ students work with our multidisciplinary faculty to explore policy areas from health and social policy to environmental and technology policy.
As these students move into the next stage in their careers, their paths may differ, but their goals remain aligned - to drive meaningful change and create positive impacts.
"We are proud of the research contributions of our PhD graduates and look forward to following their achievements in the years ahead," said Maureen Waller, acting Director of Graduate Studies.
