Population Research Discovery Seminars

Are you a data geek? Have you wondered about gaining access to the UW’s secure data center and having the opportunity to analyze linked databases about health, demography, employment, income, residences, and environment and that include censuses of people, businesses, and households?  If so, you’ll enjoy hearing Ben Cerf, Mark Ellis, and Christine Leibbrand speak about resources at the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center, as well as some ongoing projects there.

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Benjamin Cerf is an economist in the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau and is also the Administrator of the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center at the University of Washington. His research uses linked administrative and survey data and other big data techniques to investigate experiences of marginalized populations. In particular, Ben’s work focuses on participation in anti-poverty programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the demographics and labor market experiences of LGBT individuals; and the training and labor market experiences of women and foreign born students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Ben earned his PhD in economics from Simon Fraser University in 2013. He also holds an MA in economics, as well as BAs in Philosophy and Classics, all from the University of Montana.

Mark Ellis is a population and economic geographer interested in the causes and consequences of residential and employment change within cities and across regions. Current projects of Mark’s examine the relations between STEM education, STEM employment and regional economic development; immigration and labor markets; residential neighborhood change, segregation, and diversity. Mark is the Director of the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center and a Professor of Geography at the University of Washington.

Christine Leibbrand is a graduate student in the Department of Sociology and has concentrations in Demographic Methods from the University of Washington’s Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology and in Social Statistics from the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences. Her research focuses on internal migration and residential mobility within the United States and the relationship between migration, mobility, and individual and familial socioeconomic and neighborhood outcomes. She is also interested in how migration and mobility influence racial and gender disparities in socioeconomic and neighborhood outcomes.