CEO Summer Fellowship Program

Evan Murphy is a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Nevada, Reno’s Interdisciplinary Social Psychology program with interests in decision making, policy, and program evaluation research. He is a trained social psychologist with a background in applied research, and he has experience, knowledge, and skills in policy and program evaluation research

“The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) Summer Fellowship Program provided me an opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills to meaningful projects that will impact evaluation research at the DOL. Throughout the fellowship, I was able to develop research resources, present my work, attend seminars, learn about various DOL agencies, and work with an exceptional group of colleagues. The CEO fellowship was a remarkably rewarding experience that I would recommend to anyone with an interest in labor-related topics and/or evaluation research.”

Evgenia Kapousouz is a Ph.D. candidate in Survey Methodology at the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is primarily interested in measurement error and cross-cultural analysis. Her dissertation examines social desirability bias as a questionnaire, personality, and cultural trait and whether it is associated with other response styles, i.e., acquiescence and extreme response style.

“CEO is an excellent place to work. As a CEO Summer Fellow, I was presented with numerous opportunities for personal development and continuous learning. Although the fellowship was only for ten weeks, everyone made an effort to make us feel welcomed. The leadership was always understanding and accommodating, ensuring the projects we worked on were meaningful and exciting for us. The organizational culture is one of the many CEO's assets. Overall, I believe it is a great place to work.”

Kendal Lowery is a Ph.D. candidate in the departments of Sociology and Demography at the Pennsylvania State University, where she is also an NIH T-32 trainee in Social Environments and Population Health. Her research is broadly focused on immigrants, their health, and their integration into the U.S. society. Currently, she is focusing on the intergenerational mobility and well-being of immigrants through observing different indicators of socioeconomic status.

“From day one, I felt the enthusiasm that the Chief Evaluation Office had to have me on board for the summer. Everyone was so inviting and willing to answer any questions I had. As a summer research fellow, I not only had the opportunity to engage in independent research on a labor-related topic but also got the chance to meet many of the Department of Labor’s wonderful employees, all of whom were happy to share their knowledge and expertise. This was truly an invaluable opportunity, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeing what it might be like to work within the federal government.”

Meifeng Yang is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include labor, demography, education, and public finance. Prior to her Ph.D. program, she worked as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from UC Berkeley.

“My experience with the DOL CEO this summer was great. I had the opportunity to work with the staff very closely and let the ideas sparkle. The culture was very supportive and innovative, and I can work independently yet received as much guidance as needed. My favorite part was that the team was able to exchange ideas freely, built up trust during corporation, and being frank with each other to provide the best feedback.”

Wenchen Wang is a Ph.D. candidate at Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Her experience is diverse: she was a data and policy analyst at the licensing and background studies divisions of the Office of the Inspector General in the Minnesota Department of Human Services; she worked with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to evaluate the economic effects of Humphrey-Hawkins Act, and she used to be a professional interpreter for a local government in China. At present, Wenchen’s research focus is on labor economics, to be more specific, how occupational licensing affects the labor market outcomes including wages, hours worked as well as employment.

“This summer at the CEO is probably one of my best working experiences. As a summer fellow at the data analytics team, I was able to work on a project that is closely related to my research interest. On this project, not only did the folks at the data analytics team offer me great direction and instruction as to how to kick off the project, but I was also given full autonomy as to what I want to accomplish for this project. Other than the fantastic working environment, I also appreciate the fact that I got exposure to the organizational structure at the federal government level, and everyone in CEO was trying their best to ensure we have the best experience. Overall, I think this is a very good program and I definitely think that more PhD students who are interested in labor-related topics should try to get involved in this summer program.”

Xue Wu is a Ph.D. candidate from the Department of Economics University at Albany, SUNY with an interest in health economics, industrial organization, development economics, and applied econometrics. The majority of her current research applies PSM-DID experiments to estimate the effect of losing access to hospital-based obstetric care in rural U.S. and the magnitudes of policy-relevant factors affecting rural mothers’ health outcomes.

“Thanks to CEO for giving me the opportunity to join Data Analytics team during this summer. This is a wonderful summer to work with you and other summer fellowships. It’s a great experience for Ph.D. students to practice the research skills and apply it to real situations. Different from academic environment, this summer fellowship opportunity provided me a better idea about what knowledge areas and skills I should attach more importance, and a much greater concept of what to expect in career after graduation. I’m really appreciative that I was chosen to the program, and this invaluable work experience will benefit me in the future.”