Dr. Jody Heymann
Founding Director
Distinguished Professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Luskin School of Public Affairs, and Geffen School of Medicine
Jody Heymann, MD, PhD is Founding Director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, and Distinguished Professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Luskin School of Public Affairs, and Geffen School of Medicine. An unprecedented effort to improve the level and quality of comparative policy data available to policymakers, researchers and the public, WORLD examines health and social policies and outcomes in all 193 UN countries.
Dr. Heymann previously held a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy at McGill University where she was the founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy. While on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, she founded the Project on Global Working Families.
Dr. Heymann has authored and edited more than 400 publications, including 18 books. Selected titles include Advancing Equality (University of California Press, 2020), Changing Children’s Chances (Harvard University Press, 2013), Making Equal Rights Real (Cambridge University Press, 2012), Lessons in Educational Equality (Oxford University Press, 2012), Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic (Oxford University Press, 2012), Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder (Harvard Business Press, 2010), Raising the Global Floor (Stanford University Press, 2009), Trade and Health (McGill Queens University Press, 2007), Forgotten Families (Oxford University Press, 2006), and Healthier Societies (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Dr. Heymann has received numerous honors, including election to the national Institute of Medicine in 2013 and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2012. She has worked with leaders in North American, European, African, and Latin American governments as well as a wide range of intergovernmental organizations including the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the World Economic Forum, UNICEF, and UNESCO.
Dr. Heymann’s findings have been featured on CNN Headline News; MSNBC; Good Morning America; Fox News; National Public Radio’s All Things Considered; Fresh Air and Marketplace; in The New York Times; Washington Post; Los Angeles Times; Business Week, Inc; Portfolio; Forbes India and USA Today among other internationally and nationally syndicated programs and press.
Bijetri Bose
Senior Research Analyst
bbose (at) ph.ucla.edu
Bijetri Bose is a Senior Research Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. She is an applied microeconomist with a research interest in the evaluation of the impact of national legislations and programmatic interventions on the education, health, and gender norms, primarily of children and women, in developing countries. Bijetri is also a Visiting Scientist on the Indian Health Systems Project at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health where she works in the domain of economics of health care systems with a particular emphasis on healthcare provision by pharmacies. Bijetri has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Washington. She received a MA in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a BA in economics from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She was previously a visiting assistant professor at Oberlin College, Ohio and a Research Associate at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
Alison Earle
Senior Work-Family Policy Analyst
aearle (at) ph.ucla.edu
Alison Earle, PhD, is a Senior Work-Family Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Dr. Earle’s research focuses on how labor and employment policies affect the health, wellbeing, and economic security of working families in the United States and worldwide. While at the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Earle was the Co-director with Dr. Jody Heymann of the Project on Global Working Families, and managed a large research team developing the first truly global labor policy database, the Work, Family, Equity Index. Dr. Earle conducted some of the first national studies on disparities in access to paid leave and schedule flexibility in the United States, and the first globally comparative analysis of paid sick days policies. Earle has over 60 publications and with co-author Dr. Jody Heymann, published her first book Raising the Global Floor: Dismantling the Myth that We Can’t Afford Good Working Conditions for Everyone (Stanford University Press, 2010). Dr. Earle has provided expert testimony at Massachusetts congressional hearings on proposed paid family and medical leave and paid sick days legislation, and at U.S. congressional briefings on afterschool policy and funding. Earle received the 2006 Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis Best Article Award for her article examining the link between economic competitiveness and paid sick days policy and the 2014 Lawrence Klein Award for the Best Article in Monthly Labor Review for her article examining job characteristics of minority and immigrant working parents. She taught courses on the translation of public health research into action, and the effects of social policy on children’s health. Dr. Earle received an M.P.P. from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Laurel Grzesik-Mourad
Policy Analyst and Project Manager
Tel: 310 825 8543
lgrzesik (at) ph.ucla.edu
Laurel Grzesik-Mourad is a Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. She received her BA in the Study of Religion and a minor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and completed her Master of Public Policy at the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. Before joining WORLD, she was Program Communications Officer for the Office of Interdisciplinary & Cross Campus Affairs at UCLA, connecting partners across campus. Prior to that, Laurel worked in government relations, policy, communications, and development for Andy Spahn & Associates as well as in diversity and inclusion at the British Broadcasting Corporation’s Diversity Centre.
Kate Huh
Writer/Editor
khuh (at) ph.ucla.edu
Kate Huh is a Writer and Editor at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Prior to joining the team at WORLD, she worked as a translator, curriculum designer, and writing instructor. She received her BA in Literature, with concentrations in Chinese and Korean, from Yale University.
Alfredo Martin
Senior Research Analyst
Tel: 310 983 3076
amartin (at) ph.ucla.edu
Alfredo Martin is a Senior Research Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. Alfredo is an applied microeconomist with a background in law and public policy. His research lies in the intersection of applied econometrics and Human Rights. He has worked as a Research Assistant at the Georgia Policy Labs and the Education Policy Initiative, and as a Poverty and Inequality Analyst at the Ministry of Social Development in Chile. Alfredo earned a B.A. in Law from University Diego Portales, a Masters in Economics from the University of Chile, an M.P.P. from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Economics at Georgia State University.
Michael McCormack
Senior Policy Analyst
Tel: 310 825 7461
mmccormack (at) ph.ucla.edu
Michael McCormack received BAs in Political Science and Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MA in Applied Economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston. His research interests include labor economics, economic development, the political economy of household debt and progressive economic policy. Prior to working at WORLD, he worked as an economic policy associate at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank based in New York City. He was also a researcher at the Center for Social Policy at UMass Boston and an organizer in the student and labor movement at UMass Amherst with the Student Labor Action Project.
Gonzalo Moreno
Policy Analyst
gmoreno (at) ph.ucla.edu
Gonzalo Moreno is a Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center, where he works mainly on research and dissemination projects that utilize the Constitutions database. He received BAs in Translation at the University of Malaga and in International Development at the University of Guelph, and completed his MA in International Affairs at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Before joining WORLD, he was the project manager of MACHEquity, a collaborative project between McGill University and UCLA to better understand how changes in policy can affect the health and wellbeing of households in low- and middle-income countries. Before MACHEquity Gonzalo worked on various research projects at McGill, including coordinating the conference and publications of Disability and Equity. Gonzalo’s main research interests include the importance of non-health policies as social determinants of health, global health initiatives and financing, and the political economy of development assistance.
Callahan Moriyasu
Policy Analyst
Tel: 310 825 7117
cmoriyasu (at) ph.ucla.edu
Callahan Moriyasu is a Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. She completed her BA in Economics and History at Northwestern University and her Master of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining WORLD, she worked as a research assistant at USC evaluating the health effects of COVID-19 and homelessness on women in LA’s Skid Row in partnership with Los Angeles Community Action Network. She also held roles as an AmeriCorps Vista in program evaluation at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and as a market research associate at Lieberman Research Worldwide.
Kristen Mosher
Program and Operations Manager
Tel: 310 825 7126
kmosher (at) ph.ucla.edu
Kristen Mosher (she/her) is the Program Analyst at WORLD Policy Analysis Center. She received her BA in English Literature and Writing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her MA in International Affairs from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Her graduate research focused on education and gender equality in the international development and humanitarian spaces. Prior to joining the team at WORLD, she worked in project management, grant writing, and database development at The Children’s Trust of Massachusetts and The Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University. She has also worked as a teacher in the U.S. and abroad.
Nicholas Perry
Senior Research Analyst – Outreach Coordinator
Tel: 510 289 7752
nperry (at) ph.ucla.edu
Nicholas Perry is a Senior Research Analyst and the Outreach Coordinator at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center. In addition to research work on work and family, education, poverty, and aging policy issues, Nicholas coordinates WORLD’s global research and dissemination partnerships with policymakers, civil society organizations, funders, and the public at large. In this outreach work, Nicholas works with the WORLD team to develop and disseminate tools that translate newly available law and policy data into evidence-based decision making and increased transparency and accountability. Nicholas leads WORLD’s collaborative work across the UCLA campus, with academic partners around the globe, with on the ground civil society organizations, and with intergovernmental organizations looking to translate policy into impact. Nicholas’ professional background includes work in direct political engagement, political polling and messaging, and grassroots political organizing. Nicholas received his BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Southern California.
Amy Raub
Principal Research Analyst
araub (at) ph.ucla.edu
Amy Raub is the Principal Research Analyst of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center and is responsible for the translation of WORLD’s comparative policy research on all 193 UN countries to findings for policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers. Amy has been deeply involved with the development of WORLD's databases on constitutional rights, laws, and policies since 2008. She has presented WORLD’s findings to UN human rights committees, civil society groups, and at international conferences. Her publications include statistical analyses of the relationship between policies and outcomes, overviews of the status of constitutional rights globally, and assessments of whether countries are meeting their international commitments in human rights conventions. Amy received her BA in Economics from Rice University and her MS in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. She has a background in statistical analysis for economic consulting including the examination of disparities based on race, gender, and age in a variety of topics, including mortgage lending, police stops, and employment issues.
Aleta Sprague
Senior Legal Analyst
asprague (at) ph.ucla.edu
Aleta Sprague is a Senior Legal Analyst at WORLD, where she leads WORLD’s written and transmedia communications and examines the intersections among constitutional rights, case law, and national policy development in advancing social and economic equality across different legal systems. Previously, Aleta was a policy analyst at New America, a public policy think tank, where her research focused on poverty, access to public assistance programs, and financial inclusion for low-income communities. She also previously served as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force. Aleta received her BA in Anthropology and French from New York University and her JD from UCLA School of Law, where she focused on international law and human rights and completed a specialization in Critical Race Studies. She is a member of the California and New York state bars.
Pam Stek
Writer and Senior Researcher
Tel: 310 825 2435
pstek (at) ph.ucla.edu
Pam Stek is a Writer and Editor at WORLD with a background in researching and writing about the political activism of marginalized groups. She received her BA in Mathematics from Macalester College and her PhD in History from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining WORLD, she was employed as a historical researcher and writer for several nonprofit organizations, as a history instructor, and as an actuary. Her previous work includes an examination of Midwestern immigrant women’s activism in support of organized labor and women’s suffrage during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Sheleana Varvaro-Toney
Operations and Administrative Manager
Tel: 310 825 7322
svarvaro (at) ph.ucla.edu
Sheleana received her BS in Biochemistry from UCLA with a minor in Asian languages (Concentration-Chinese) in 2011 and her MPH in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in 2017. Prior to joining WORLD, she worked as Grants Project Manager for the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Grants Submission Unit. Sheleana has over ten years of full-time working experience within UCLA, collaborating with researchers, clinicians, faculty, students and administration of all levels. Outside of her UCLA activities, Sheleana is an active member of Women in Health Administration of Southern California, and currently serves on the board as Administrative Coordinator and Finance Co-Chair.
Willetta Waisath
Senior Research Analyst and Research Manager
Tel: 310 983 3078
wwaisath (at) ph.ucla.edu
Willetta Waisath is a Senior Research Analyst and Research Manager at WORLD, where she guides the development of law and policy databases, contributes to analysis, and supports the translation and dissemination of findings to diverse, international stakeholders. She focuses on laws and policies that shape the social determinants of health—including labor rights, social protection, and education policy. She has led WORLD’s efforts to measure labor and social policy provisions that expand or restrict coverage of marginalized workers.
Prior to WORLD, Waisath worked in a range of quantitative and qualitative research projects including: access to early childhood care and education, health needs assessments, reproductive health education, sexual risk behavior, violence against children, and social interactions embedded in physical activity. Early in her career, her work supported community-based programs focused on healthy child development and family violence prevention. Willetta received her BA in Psychology from Coe College and her MPH in Community Health Sciences from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.
Ross Weistroffer
Senior Policy Analyst
Tel: 310 825 7447
rweistroffer (at) ph.ucla.edu
Ross Weistroffer (he/him) is a Senior Policy Analyst at the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at UCLA, where he leads the Center's information access and management efforts and contributes to the development and analysis of its international comparative law and policy databases. He holds a MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he specialized in global information and communication, and dual BAs in History and International Studies from American University, where he specialized in international communication. Ross previously led research projects at the Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs and the World Peace Foundation, and has worked for the U.S. Senate and U.S. Department of State.
