CLEAR Initiative Student Partners

Josephina (Zhenni) Bian is a Master of Science candidate in Communication Data Science at the University of Southern California. This unique program is jointly offered by the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Her undergraduate studies at Simon Fraser University in Canada encompassed a dual major in Communication and Philosophy, focusing keenly on the political economy of communication and the philosophy of science. Josephina’s research interests in social science are deeply rooted in information technology and society, power dynamics, and new media. At USC, her focus has shifted toward the practical application of her theoretical insights, mastering advanced statistical analysis, Python programming, machine learning, and product management. Her dedication to combining theoretical knowledge with practical data skills, aimed at reshaping the fields of social science, led her to join CLEAR. Here, Josephina is actively engaged in data-driven projects that focus on analyzing and visualizing public sector markets.

Darren Cao is a third year undergraduate student majoring in Economics and Data Science at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. His research interests are in micro- and macro-economic trends, particularly how decisions by the Federal Reserve will affect the job market. He is also interested in how Artificial intelligence will affect the job market and if people of different genders, ethnicities, and social statuses will be affected disproportionately.

His research is largely data driven. His work includes employing historical data for visualizing trends and conducting regression analysis to assess the significance of specific variables. Darren is driven by his commitment to leverage data in order to empower individuals to make well-informed decisions, particularly in the realms of employment and promoting equality.

Sukwon Choi is a second-year Master’s student in the Public Administration program at the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Before joining USC, Sukwon completed his Master’s in public administration (MPA) at Seoul National University. He also studied as a part-time student in the Department of Electrical and Engineering at Dankook University. His research interests involve how political environments and administrative structures within the Federal Agency and Congress, as well as science and technology, affect the micro-level behavior of public workers. Before joining CLEAR, he worked as a researcher at the Korea HRD Industry Association, focusing on human resources development (HRD) in the public sector. His role involved participating in research and development to advance the HRD industry and conducting surveys to identify critical issues and trends. Specifically, he researched job satisfaction and resignation factors among Millennials and Generation Z civil servants. His recent work, “The Use of Twitter to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Governors in the United States,” which analyzes governors’ behavior during the pandemic, is being reviewed in Public Management Review.

Nicole Dias is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Science at the Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the Fr. Conceciao Rodrigues College of Engineering, University of Mumbai, Nicole has cultivated a solid foundation in diverse computing domains.

Throughout her academic journey, Nicole’s passion for data science has been the driving force behind her pursuits. She is deeply fascinated by the innovation and thought process that underlie coding, and her interest evolved into a professional commitment. Inspired by the transformative power of data, Nicole believes in leveraging raw figures to derive meaningful insights that positively impact individuals and organizations.

Nicole possesses a diverse skill set, highlighting proficiency in programming languages such as C, Java, Python, and R. Her expertise extends to data visualization tools like Power BI and Tableau, and she is well-versed in using libraries and frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, Sklearn, Seaborn, and more. Her web development skills include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React. With a keen understanding of data manipulation languages, including MySQL and MongoDB, Nicole is equipped to handle complex data analytics tasks.

With a holistic understanding of data science, programming expertise, and a passion for community impact, Nicole is eager to make substantial contributions to missions aligned with her goals, much like those exemplified by CLEAR. Her dynamic skill set, and commitment make her a valuable asset to any team or organization aiming to leverage data science for positive change.

Esther González is a PhD Candidate in the Price School of Public Policy and Management program at the University of Southern California. Prior to USC, Esther completed her Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Cornell University. Her research domains are organizational behavior and diversity management with particular interests in diversity investment outcomes and the impact of executive leadership diversity. Her research is multidisciplinary and applies methods and fields in public policy, management, political science, and sociology. Her passion for diversity, inclusion, and the future of representation in leadership is at the core of all her work.

Esther’s Recent Publication:

Barboza-Wilkes, C., Gonzalez, E., Resh, W., & Wong, S. (2022). “The Emotional Toll of the COVID-19 Crisis on Local Government Workers.” Review of Public Personnel Administration.

Jochelle Greaves Siew is a PhD Candidate  in the Public Policy and Management Program at the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Her research interests focus on the interplay between emotions and heuristic-based decision-making within bureaucratic contexts. Prior to joining USC, Jochelle completed her Master’s in Public Policy and Administration, with a specialization in public management, from The London School of Economics and Political Science. Her previous research includes an investigation into control mechanisms used by governments during the implementation of public sector reform. In addition, she is involved in projects focusing on political brand equity and mixed institutional messaging.

Nisa Gürbüz is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Public Policy and Management Department at the USC Price School of Public Policy. Prior to her doctoral studies, she obtained her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a Fulbright Scholar. Her professional background includes a role as a Project Manager in the IT sector before she embarked on her academic journey at USC. Her research focuses on exploring the dynamic relationship between technology utilization and organizational learning, with a particular emphasis on understanding decision-making processes within organizations.

Eli Joun is a PhD Candidate in the Urban Planning and Development Program at the University of Southern California. They hold a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science from the University of Chicago. With an interest in organizational behavior, identity, and technology, they are researching how the nature of the work environment will evolve as remote work becomes an increasingly important consideration and what this means for young professionals. In particular, they focus on intersectionality in hybrid work environments with generational identity being a critical dimension in one’s intersectional identity. In the past, they worked on projects ranging from the partisanship of Congress members’ speeches to the impact of the built environment on health behavior and perception of safety.

Eli Keunyoung Lee is a PhD Candidate in the Public Policy and Management program at the Price School of Public Policy. Eli also holds two master’s degrees in Public Administration from Seoul National University (South Korea) and the University of Southern California (2020). His research interests are in behavioral public administration, primarily how agency resources and political environments affect public officials’ attitudes and behavior. More specifically, Eli is interested in the influence of agency reputation on changes in public employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Prior to joining CLEAR, he worked as a founder and leader of “Nesal-Nessal,” one of the leading Korean social enterprises that deal with social problems such as income disparity and urban decay. You can read Eli’s most recent work on Senate-confirmed presidential appointee vacancies in Presidential Studies Quarterly and his exploratory work on federal contracting and patronage at SSRN. 

Eli’s Recent Publications:

Resh, William G., Nicholas G. Napolio, and Eli (Keunyoung) Lee. “The Pivotal and Distributive Politics of Senate-Confirmed Appointee Vacancies.” Presidential Studies Quarterly.

Eli (Keunyoung) Lee. (Draft-in-progress). “An Armor and Helmet? Assessing the Effects of Agency Reputation on Public Employees’ Turnover Intent.” *Accepted to the 2022 ASPA conference

Anderson (Kecheng) Liu is a second year Master student in Applied Data Science at the Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California. He has a strong foundation in Informatics, having completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington. Throughout his academic journey, Anderson has developed a firm belief in the transformative power of data—turning raw figures into meaningful insights that benefit individuals and enterprises alike.

He is proficient in a variety of data manipulation tools, including Python and SQL, and is skilled in advanced techniques such as Data Mining, Big Data analytics, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. In addition to his analytical capabilities, Anderson is an adept full-stack developer, with expertise in both front-end and back-end web development, as well as mobile app creation for iOS and Android platforms.

With these competencies, Anderson is confident in his ability to contribute significantly to CLEAR, aiding in the realization of its mission to serve and impact a broader community.

Yi Ming is a second year Master’s Student majoring in Data Science at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. His research interest is integrating public management and data science, leveraging computational tools (big data/ machine learning) to both validate established public management theories and forge novel theoretical perspectives. Currently, he is delving into the intricate dynamics of political and financial influences on employee turnover within multi-level federal agencies with new data and methodologies. Before joining USC, Yi completed his Master’s in Business Analytics at Boston University.