Student Staff

Alex is from Alexandria, Virginia. He is a junior majoring in literature at Claremont McKenna College. His internship with the Center for Death Penalty Litigation inspired him to study how public policy decisions can break the cycle of crime and poverty in American society. At the Rose, he has worked on projects studying California’s efforts to fight its housing crisis and primary election reform. He is currently leading a staff conducting research on rebuilding after fires in Los Angeles, with the City of Santa Rosa as a case study. On campus, he is a writer for the philosophy journal Tabula Rasa and a member of the 5C climbing team. He enjoys skiing, reading, bouldering, and talking politics.

Quinten is from Boise, Idaho, and is majoring in Public Policy at Claremont McKenna College. In high school, his interest in government and public policy led him to work as a page for the Idaho State Legislature and participate in the US Senate Youth Program. He wants to study electoral data and political competitiveness, as well as learn about California’s top-two primary system, which has led him to join the Rose Institute.  Quinten has written articles for the Inland Empire Outlook: Spring of 2024 (IE Primary Races), Spring of 2025 (IE Goes Red).  He worked on Sinclair's election data and is a member of the Rose's data team.  He had two OpEds published in The San Bernardino Sun (August 9 and August 24, 2024). Outside of the Rose, he competes on the CMS Cross Country and Track teams and occasionally does landscape doodling in his free time.

Jada is a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major at Claremont McKenna College. Originally from the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California, she developed a passion for civic engagement through her leadership in voter registration and education initiatives, working with the national, nonpartisan organization When We All Vote. In the summer of 2023, Jada served as a research assistant to Professor Michael Fortner, authoring a report on how race, region, and party affiliation influenced the framing of crack cocaine in the 99th Congress. She later interned for Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, gaining firsthand experience in legislative processes and constituent services. Most recently, Jada spent the fall semester in Washington, D.C. as a legislative intern for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, where she contributed to research and advocacy on fiscal policy. This semester, Jada is excited to return to the Rose Institute, where she will continue her research with Professor Michael Fortner on the 1980s war on drugs.

Sanskriti is from Stamford, Connecticut, and is pursuing a dual major in Econ-Accounting and International Relations at CMC. In high school, Sanskriti developed an interest in local government by working with local legislators to draft an allergy bill and working on local campaigns, where she learned directly about housing and education policy, two areas of interest at the Rose. Sanskriti joined the Rose in the fall of 2022. Throughout her time at the Institute, Sanskriti has worked on a variety of activities: she participated in research on the Kosmont and the California City Management Foundation projects, as well as joining internal projects such as website development and media strategy. Sanskriti studied abroad in Rome during the fall 2024 semester. Outside of the Rose, Sanskriti enjoys spending her time as a tour guide on campus, watching soccer, and reading travel guides.

Maya is a Harvey Mudd junior majoring in international relations and physics while concentrating in Japanese. Raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Maya became interested in political ideology in elementary school while listening to her family’s frequent debates about politics, exploring these areas further in her high school history and philosophy clubs. At the Rose, Maya did her New Hire Project on measuring illegal corruption in California and Texas, worked on the 2024 Video Voter Guide, compiled datasets of congressional elections, and drafted and proofread parts of the Rose Institute’s national poll for Professor Andy Sinclair. She has also been deeply involved in the Data Team, leading the Data Hub Team–which has stored and visualized Rose data–and the Burnweit Team–which cleans and assesses the accuracy of a dataset with biographical information about California legislators. She is the incoming Project Manager for the Data Team. In her free time, Maya helps lead the Politics of East Asia Society, practices Japanese, reads (all genres), and watches anime with friends and family. She studied abroad in Japan during the summer of 2024.

Ryan is majoring in both Data Science and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). He has been interested in politics and government since he was young, especially how data and quantitative analysis can be used for better understanding impacts of economic policy. Since joining the Rose Institute, Ryan has worked on the Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business survey, the California City Managers Foundation survey, the Media team, the Polling team, and the Data Team, eventually becoming Data Director. He also mentored one of the new hires in the Fall of 2024. He also worked on a project with Professor Andrew Sinclair in the summer of 2024. Being from San Diego, California, he loves the ocean and hiking, as well as tennis and running, but his favorite thing to do is to learn.

David is from La Habra, California, and is dual-majoring in Public Policy and PPE. He is particularly interested in how state and local policies have tangible effects on the welfare of the average citizen. At the Rose, he has previously worked on the 2024 Video Voter Guide project, the Long Beach Housing project, and most recently, the California City Mangers Survey. He has also worked at the Orange County Government Board of Supervisors, where he focused on transit, ethics, and housing policy. On top of being at the Rose, David also works as a Claremont McKenna Tour Guide, volunteers for CMC Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Violence, and has previously done work at the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies. In his free time, David can be found watching sports, reading, or keeping up with and arguing with friends over American politics and political philosophy. David spent the fall semester of 2024 studying abroad in Córdoba, Spain. He has been tapped to be the student liaison for the Rose Board of Governors. In the summer of 2025, through funds provided by the Rose Institute, David interned for the Orange County’s People for Housing.

Rutvij is a junior at Claremont McKenna College majoring in Economics with interests in the intersection of public policy and finance. He is also an Army ROTC cadet pursuing in Civil Affairs and planning on investment banking at Bank of America after graduation. He also has experience in endowment investing at the Texas Permanent School Fund and the McKinsey Investment Office.  At the Rose, Rutvij has been involved with the Video Voter 2024 project, written an article about San Bernardino County for the Spring 2023 edition of the Inland Empire Outlook, and helped in the research about the Santa Rosa fire recovery. When he’s not reading or ideating about markets, you can find him on scenic hikes and drives or in the weight room.

Elisa is an Environment, Economics, and Politics major from Venice, Italy, and Pasadena, California. Her interest in state and local government stems from her study of climate change, a problem both global and local in nature. At the Rose, she contributed to the Ontario Missing Middle Housing, Trump Era Elections Dataset, and Ontario’s Affordable Housing Fund projects. Her new hire project analyzed the efficacy of local environmental policies, which she advocated for in high school. Elisa spent a summer in Venice, aiding lagoon conservation efforts while researching its governance through the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies. She loves mountain biking, backpacking, and cooking up a meal or a playlist for friends. Back in LA, she is an organizer for Climate Action California PAC, as well as the first Los Angeles Climate Week.

Aria is from Singapore and is a CMC student dual majoring in Economics and PPE. As a student researcher at the Rose, she has conducted a data-driven analysis of healthcare systems in California prisons and jails, using Stata to run regression analyses and evaluate policy impacts on male and female inmates. She has also gained experience in repository research and administration by conducting archival research on the 1986 and 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Acts, to investigate the international elements of narcotics trafficking policy. This is indicative of her strong interest in immigration and criminal justice. Over the summer, she interned as a compliance policy analyst at SingX, a Singaporean money transfers company, where she rewrote its Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism policy to adhere to the 2023 updated Singaporean regulations. Outside of academic interests, she enjoys painting, British sitcoms, and listening to music.

Olivia is from Melrose, Massachusetts, and is a student at Scripps College majoring off campus at CMC in Public Policy. She became interested in the policy field after spending a summer studying educational equity at Brown University, which led her to conduct education policy research and work with the Melrose Health and Human Services Department and School Committee in her senior year of high school. In addition, Olivia is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of California education policy and healthcare policy through work at the Rose. For her new hire project at the Rose, she looked at CalWORKS and its impact on families and employment before and post-pandemic.  She has since worked on multiple teams looking into California City Management and Elections. Olivia is also a Scripps Advocate, Co-President of Claremont Students for Public Health, a captain of the Claremont Climbing Team, and is looking to pursue both an economics and fine arts minor if she has the time.

Dhriti is a Government major from Rocklin, California, interested in American jurisprudence and political history. At the Rose, she has worked on the 2024 Ontario housing project on ADU production and SB 9 lot splits, the 2024 Video Voter Guide, and the Vernon project on the city’s incorporation. She is currently working on a project examining how bail reform in New York City and Los Angeles City has impacted recidivism rates and jail populations. Elsewhere on campus, she is involved with CMC’s Open Academy and Gould Center. In her free time, she enjoys playing NYT crosswords, watching period dramas, and reading.

Kahani is a PPE and Film Studies dual major. She hails from New Delhi, India, but is a globetrotter, having lived in five different countries—India, Sudan, Russia, Malaysia, and the US—while being a Texan at heart. Her research into marijuana legislation under a Californian cannabis infusion company and work in a congressional campaign in Saratoga drew her to conduct research for the Rose Institute. She has contributed to the 2024 Video Voter Guide and the 2025 CCMF project, as well as analyzed the impact of cannabis legislation in the Inland Empire for her New Hire Project. She is excited to continue developing her passion for California politics in the newsroom as a reporting intern for LAist this summer.

Sam is from San Mateo, California, and is majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). His passion for politics, business, and political economy first developed from listening to NPR’s Morning Edition with his mom on the way to elementary school every morning and inheriting his dad’s entrepreneurial spirit. At the Rose, Sam is the liaison for Culture and Events. He has worked on projects including the 2024 Video Voter Guide, housing, and authored statewide legal data compilation and fiscal analysis of small businesses. Sam has a passion for all things sports, including water polo, swimming, and football. He also loves camping and being outdoors due to his experiences as an Eagle Scout. R&B and Jazz are Sam’s two favorite genres of music, and he loves to sing terribly and play the piano.

Anuj is from Chino Hills, California.  At CMC, he is pursuing a double major in PPE (Philosophy, Politics, & Economics) and Biology. His interest in state and local government stemmed from his previous work in California legislation, specifically on topics such as elections, health, and education. At the Rose, Anuj is excited to develop quantitative skills in policy evaluation to aid in the research of housing and healthcare policy. He has completed research on policies affecting oral health in indigenous communities of North America and has interned with the office of Congresswoman Judy Chu. Anuj analyzed the effect of state budget increases on the Medi-Cal Dental program in his New Hire Project and as part of the Rose's Data Team, working on the NETS Data Provisioning & Ontario Housing projects at the Rose. In his free time, Anuj enjoys running, listening to music, and playing NYT games.

Thomas is from Brooklyn, New York, and majoring in Government at Claremont McKenna College. His interest in state and local governance emerged through working with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the oversight agency of the New York City Police Department. At the Rose, Thomas is excited to work on projects related to criminal justice reforms, housing policies, and poverty alleviation programs. He has worked on a project examining how bail reform in New York City and Los Angeles City impacted recidivism rates and jail populations. For his new hire project, Thomas researched how Acoustic Gunshot Detection Systems (ShotSpotter) impacted firearms arrests in Oakland, California. Outside of the Rose Institute, Thomas is a campus tour guide and a Romero Success coach. He also works for SOURCE Nonprofit Consulting as a Client Team Lead, and he sings in the Joint Music Program’s Concert Choir. He enjoys listening to and playing music (singing and guitar), watching baseball (go Yankees!), and exploring new neighborhoods.

Deborah is from Upland, CA, pursuing a dual major in public policy and data science. She is passionate about policy research and hopes to ultimately work as a policy analyst in government. She first became interested in policy when doing an environmental economics research project at Scripps College and exploring welfare policy in high school. She is most interested in welfare and economic policy, seeking to discover how different policies affect underrepresented groups. For her new hire project at the Rose, Deborah analyzed the difference in implementation of the CalWORKs program in San Bernardino and Riverside County. This research was turned into an article for the Spring 2025 edition of the Inland Empire Outlook. She is now part of the data team, excited about exploring the intersections of data analysis and policy, and also designing our social media pages. Outside of the Rose, she enjoys collecting Pokémon cards, reading, watching movies, and biking.

Andy is from Summit, New Jersey, and plans to major in Government and Economics at CMC. He first became interested in politics through high school debate, and eventually interned for his local Democratic party and various Congressional campaigns. At the Rose, Andrew is excited to improve his quantitative analysis skills and research economic policy through a non-partisan lens. He has researched California’s cap-and-trade system and is looking forward to analyzing California’s city council election switch. Outside of the Rose, he is a consultant for Path and plays lacrosse on the Claremont Men’s Lacrosse Team. He also watching the Knicks, Rangers, Yankees, and Giants

Arushi is from San José, California, and is double majoring in Economics and History with a sequence in Financial Economics at Claremont McKenna College. She developed an interest in state and local government through her work on a mayoral campaign and in Bay Area housing and homelessness policy. At the Rose, she recently presented her New Hire Project on the effect of states’ deficit provisions on spending, borrowing, and rainy-day fund growth rates, and was staffed on the Ontario Housing Project (affordable housing financing) and the Data Team. On campus, Arushi is also an analyst for the Financials and REITs industry group in the Student Investment Fund. In her free time, she loves singing jazz and watching Psych, Suits, or Community.

Stephanie is from Arcadia, California, and is majoring in Government at Claremont McKenna College. Through her city’s civic youth council, she became interested in politics, advocating for sexual abuse survivors and housing rights for people experiencing homelessness at the local level. From there, she interned for Supervisor Hilda Solis, PCC trustee Alton Wang, Assemblymember Mike Fong, and Congresswoman Judy Chu. Eventually, she became the National Vice Chairwoman of the High School Democrats of America.  At the Rose, Stephanie researched the effectiveness of homelessness policy in Los Angeles County for her new hire project and worked on the 2025 Olson Housing Project. Outside of the Rose, she enjoys cooking and baking cuisine from all around the world.”

Keith is from Santa Clara, CA, and is majoring in Government. At the Rose, he works on a number of projects relating to election administration, election statistics, polling, and modeling.  He is currently conducting research on the logistical and partisan effects of California’s vote-by-mail policies. His New Hire Project focused on the San Francisco election administration, wherein he discussed the impacts of their ranked-choice-voting system on partisanship on the Board of Supervisors. He also researched the impacts of at-large and by-district city council election systems in California. Outside of the Rose, Keith is also heavily involved with immigration law and policy, working at a firm handling legal support for California migrants. He is also a Research Fellow at the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights, studying federal and state immigration policy, an Associate Consultant at the Graphite Group, and a member of the CMC Model UN team.

Jathan is from Carmel, Indiana, where his interest in state and local politics developed after serving on his mayor’s youth council. He wrote his new hire project on the impact of environmental regulations in the Inland Empire’s warehousing industry. He did research on the Olson Company-commissioned housing report comparing Altadena’s 2025 Eaton Fire crisis to the 2017 Tubbs Fires in Santa Rosa. He presented the report at the Rose Institute’s and Olson Company’s 3rd Annual Housing Symposium

Rhiannon is from Elko, Nevada, and is majoring in Government at Claremont McKenna College. Rhiannon’s interest in government stems from several courses she took on government and politics, as well as her internship experience with Ray Shaw’s Montana State Senate Campaign. Her other work experience includes a position as a research assistant with an Organizational Psychology company, EnlienWork. At the Rose, Rhiannon wrote her new hire project on groundwater management policy and its effect on small agriculture in the Central Valley. She has also worked on the 2025 California City Managers Survey. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, skateboarding, soccer, and attending concerts.

Kevin is from Temecula, California, and is majoring in Economics while pursuing a Master’s in Finance through the Robert Day Scholars Program. He developed an interest in state and local government through his 2024 summer internship in his local city government’s Economic Development Department. At the Rose, Kevin completed his new hire project last semester, analyzing minimum wage increases in California’s fast-food industry and their impact on the broader economy. Kevin was abroad in Cork, Ireland in Spring of 2025, and looks forward to contributing to new projects upon his return. In his free time, he enjoys powerlifting, playing guitar and drums, and cheering for the Padres.