THE ROSE REVIEW DIRECTOR’S REPORT Kenneth P. Miller, J.D., Ph.D.
Fall 2021 3 - Student Managers’ Report 4 - Project Updates 6 - Introducing our New Hires 12 - Summer Updates 16 - Rosies at the Ath 17 - Alumni Spotlights 19 - BOG Spotlight
I
write this first report with deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve as the new director of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government. Readers of The Rose Review know why it is such a privilege to lead this institution. The Rose Institute was founded at Claremont McKenna College in 1973 with the aim of advancing the college’s distinctive mission – that is, “to educate its students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions, and to support faculty and student scholarship that contribute to intellectual vitality and the understanding of public policy issues.” For nearly half a century, the Institute has helped CMC achieve every element of this mission by fostering a community of students and faculty within the college that produces high quality, objective, relevant research on state and local politics and policy. The Institute’s projects have contributed to public understanding of public policy issues, while also helping develop more than 400 thoughtful, productive alumni who are now exercising responsible leadership in state and local government and other sectors.
The Rose Institute has long been both an influential research organization and a close-knit family. Many of our alumni say that their time as a “Rosie” was one of the most rewarding and formative experiences of their lives—both professionally and personally. Over the past five decades, the Institute has preserved these distinctive qualities even as it has experienced changes in directors, board members, affiliated faculty, staff, students, office space, and projects. We are now at a moment of significant change. First, for only the third time in our history, we’re changing directors. At the end of June, Andy Busch completed his very successful tenure as director, having reached the College’s limit of two five-year terms for institute directors. On July 1, I became just the fourth person to hold this position, following the founding director, Alan Heslop (1973-1999), Ralph Rossum (2000-2010) and Andy Busch (2011-2021). I served on senior staff as associate director under both Ralph and Andy, and I learned a great deal from both of them. But of course I will bring my own vision, priorities, strengths, and weaknesses to the position. I am delighted that Andy will continue to work with the Institute as one of our faculty advisors and that Bipasa Nadon and Marionette Moore will continue in their essential roles on the Institute’s senior staff.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT Second, we are drawing more CMC faculty into the Institute. This year, we are forming a core group of faculty that will collaborate with our students on projects and to serve as advisors. The group includes Andy Busch; Shanna Rose, an expert in public policy who directs CMC’s new public policy major; Michael Fortner, an expert in urban politics, racial politics, and criminal justice; and Andy Sinclair, an expert in public policy, public administration, and public opinion. Needless to say, we are excited to have such an outstanding team of teacher-scholars supporting the Institute and working with our students. We also plan to increase faculty engagement by collaborating with other Claremont Colleges faculty on individual projects. This issue of the Rose Review highlights some of our current faculty collaborations. Third, this summer we modified our office space in the Kravis Center by converting the former director’s office into a new conference room. This space is already serving many purposes, including hosting team meetings between faculty and students. Fourth, this semester we recruited, selected, and welcomed 13 new student research assistants to the Rose Institute. This is the largest group of “new hires” in memory. We hired such a large group this year partly because we decided not to hire any first-year students last year, when the College was operating remotely. As a result, this fall we needed to fill a full sophomore class as well as hire a group of freshmen. Our student managers, Nohl Patterson and Adhitya Venkatraman, expertly led a month-long selection process that culminated in the hiring of eight sophomores and five freshmen. These new hires are already bonding with our returning students, starting their training program with our new hire manager Jensen Steady, and bringing fresh energy and capacity to the Institute.
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Fifth, we are all adapting to our current circumstances – that is, we’re back on campus after working completely remotely for a year and a half, while still dealing with Covid-related regulations on interpersonal interactions and the use of our space. Despite these limitations, all of us are happy to be on campus. Sixth, we’ve been developing new areas of focus, including new attention to urban and racial politics under the leadership of Prof. Fortner; an expanded polling program supervised by Prof. Andy Sinclair; and an increased emphasis on comparative analysis of California with other states, especially Texas and New York. At the same time, we’re thinking about how to enhance the value proposition of our work in other areas where the Institute has been active for years, including our partnership with the Kosmont Companies and our Inland Empire projects. As with any time of major change, this transition year provides an opportunity for us to assess our organization – to think about our strengths and weaknesses; ways of doing things that we want to preserve, as well as things that we should change; opportunities that we should pursue; capacities that we should develop; and priorities that we should set. In recent weeks, I’ve had one-on-one conversations with many of you in the Rose Institute family, including members of the Board of Governors, students, alumni, administrators, and faculty, to think together about what makes this institute so special – and how we can make it even better. I’ve greatly enjoyed and valued these discussions. I look forward to continuing them and to working with all of you to lead the Rose Institute through this time of change into a successful future.
STUDENT MANAGEMENT REPORT
Adhitya Venkatraman ’22 Associate Student Manager
Nohl Patterson ’22 Student Manager
by Nohl Patterson'22 and Adhi Venkatraman'22 The Rose Institute has enjoyed a successful return to campus. With Professor Miller entering the first year of his directorship, we are excited to take the Rose in a new direction centered around faculty collaborations, community bonding, and publicly-useful research. CMC-Rose Institute Poll We are excited to see this vision begin to take shape through this semester’s projects, including the CMCRose Institute Poll on Political Attitudes in California and New York in a Time of Crisis for their Governors. This collaboration with Professor Andrew Sinclair exemplifies the work we strive to produce consistently: research that is not only rigorous and relevant, but also engaging for students. Summer Work This past summer was a busy one for the Rose. Despite being spread across the country, students remained deeply engaged. We had a number of students begin working with faculty, including Professors Fortner, Rose, and Sinclair, on research across a wide range of topics. These projects, spanning topics from crime to taxation policy to public opinion, have continued into the Fall and are progressing smoothly. This initial test of the faculty collaboration model has proven successful and we are eager to continue developing these relationships. We have also resumed contract engagements.
Working with Outside Groups As part of an ongoing initiative with the City of Ontario, the Rose Institute produced a report on the city’s performance across various key indicators. This exciting venture is the first of many future collaborations with Ontario, and we look forward to seeing how the Rose Institute can support the city. We also look forward to reviving and reconfiguring the Kosmont Cost of Doing Business survey with a revised focus on evaluating the competitiveness of businesses in California, while also developing students’ data collection and analysis skills. New Hires 2021-2022 We are excited to announce the hiring of 13 new Rose students. They bring a diverse set of skills, interests, and experiences that will contribute to the diversity of the Institute. The workroom is once again bustling with discussions, new hire trainings, and friends. We are excited to see how this cohort will influence the research goals and community of the Rose. Looking Ahead The Rose Institute will continue finding new ways to be a community for personal and professional growth that produces impactful research on state and local government. We thank our students, staff, and alumni for giving us an incredible foundation and opportunity to lead the Rose during this exciting time. ROSE REVIEW | Page 3
PROJECT UPDATES
Photo credit: Rose Institute
Professor Fortner: New York City Mayoral Primary
Cameron Stevens ’23 & Sarah Simionas ’23 The NYC Mayor project examines the role of race, class, crime, and policing in the 2021 New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary race. Using data from the NYC Board of Elections, the US Census Bureau, the Prison Policy Initiative, and other sources, we identified the key demographic groups that pushed Eric Adams to victory. We found that Adams performed strongly with Black, lower-income, and less-educated voters, and received the majority of votes in areas with higher-than-average incarceration rates. We also analyzed survey evidence on attitudes towards crime and policing to better understand why Black voters supported a former police officer and a tough-on-crime candidate, despite the country-wide push for police reform in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. This project was conducted under the direction of Professor Michael Fortner, a new addition to the CMC Government Department faculty and the Rose Institute, and will be published by the D.C.-based Niskanen Center in the fall of 2021.
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Photo credit: Rose Institute
Professor Fortner: “Divided We Fall” Article
Cameron Stevens ’23 & Sarah Simionas ’23 Alongside the NYC Mayor project, we are also writing an article for Divided We Fall, a bipartisan nonprofit news publication, discussing the difference between voters’ opinions on crime and policing and the more polarized positions politicians often take. The article draws from recent and historic national and cityspecific data to show that the rhetoric of public officials on these issues often pushes a different narrative than what the public believes.
Professor Rose: Book on the Minimum Wage Tara Mehra ’23 Over the summer, Tara worked as a Research Assistant for Professor Shanna Rose on her upcoming book project about federalism and the minimum wage. In particular, this entailed researching the legislative and voting history of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Thus far, Tara has created a database of records,
PROJECT UPDATES including newspaper articles and congressional hearings, relevant to Prof. Rose’s research on the FLSA. She also used the articles, hearings, and legislation to outline the legislative history of the FLSA. To support the data-driven nature of Prof. Rose’s work, Tara found and sorted data to create a repository of Congressional partisan voting behavior on the FLSA. Nathan Tran POM’23 is excited to carry on Tara’s work this fall, especially by delving more into the fiscal aspects of Professor Rose’s research.
Tribal State and Federal Recognition Maya Kurkhill ’23, Miriam Farah ’23, Desmond Mantle ’23
On October 11, 2021, Professor Wallace Cleaves spoke at the Athenaeum in a talk titled “The Challenges and Opportunities for Rematriating Tovaanger.” (Photo courtesy of Claremont McKenna College)
The tribal recognition project explores state and federal recognition for indigenous tribes using the Gabrielino/Tongva’s experience as a case study. The Tongva people have gained recognition in the state of California but are one of at least fifty-five aboriginal tribes that are unrecognized by the federal government. Federal acknowledgment can affect the designation of reservation land, protection of burial sites, and access to medical, housing, and educational resources.
Our team is now in the process of communicating with tribal leadership to further all of these areas of research, as well as receiving data from the tribe to make projections about the financial impact of federal recognition. Through these communications, we can gain a better understanding of state recognition, such as the precedent it sets for other institutions to participate in land acknowledgments and cultural preservation. Professor Rossum is the faculty advisor for this project.
Professors Miller and Sinclair: CA & NY Survey
Nohl Patterson ’22 & Daniela Corona ’23 The governors of the nation’s two largest blue states, California and New York, recently faced accountability moments, as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned his office in August, and California Governor Gavin Newsom survived a recall effort in September. In a survey of residents of the two states during this period of political upheaval, the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at CMC compared attitudes of California and New York voters toward the power to recall public officials, their governors’ performances, and problems facing the states. Unlike other recent polls that have focused exclusively on the views of California voters regarding Governor Newsom and the recall process leading up to the California recall election, the CMC-Rose Institute Poll provided a comparison of public opinion in these two, large, Democratic states— one of which allows for the recall of elected officials, while the other does not. The poll, designed by the Rose Institute and conducted by YouGov, surveyed 2,000 respondents in California and 1,675 in New York between August 30, 2021 and September 10, 2021. Professor J. Andrew Sinclair and Professor Ken Miller, both faculty in the CMC Government Department, developed and oversaw the poll comparing political attitudes in California and New York. CMC students Nohl Patterson ’22 and Adhitya Venkatraman ’22 led a team of student research assistants contributing to the analysis of the data. ROSE REVIEW | Page 5
INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES
Top row: Ryan Lenney'25 (from left), Catherine Murphy'24, Nolan Windham'25, Helen Bovington'24, Nikhil Agarwal'24, Thomas Short POM'24, George Ashford'25 Bottom row: Pieter van Wingerden'24, Katherine Jackson'25, Liann Bielicki'24, Audrey Donahue'25, Grace Hong'24, Adamaris Sanchez'24 New Hire Training Manager: Jensen Steady'22
Nikhil Agarwal ’24 Nikhil is a sophomore at CMC hoping to major in Government with a Data Science Sequence and is incredibly excited to be a part of the Rose Institute! As an international student who has never lived in the US before, he hopes to learn about, not only the everyday political issues that dominate state and local politics in California, but also the founding philosophy of the country that has shaped the Constitution and the American political system as a whole. Nikhil is very passionate about sports, and on weekends you can find him playing tennis, working out in the gym, or awake at 5 am watching Formula 1 races or Premier League matches (sometimes both at the same time!). Photo courtesy of Nikhil Agarwal '24.
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES George B. Ashford ’25 George is proud to call Takoma Park, Maryland home, and has yet to declare a major at CMC. Before working at the Rose, he pursued his passion for local government as the Chair of the Takoma Park Youth City Council and as a Communications Assistant for Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart. He volunteered for and organized on campaigns including that of Senator Gary Peters and President Joe Biden in Michigan, and interned with the Executive Department at FairVote, an electoral reform advocacy organization. He currently serves as a Collegiate Director of Policy at GENup, advocating for pro-student education reform at the state and national level. In his spare time, George loves arguing about tax policy, backpacking, skiing, and otherwise enjoying the outdoors.
Photo courtesy of George Ashford '25.
Liann C. Bielicki ’24 Liann is from Castro Valley, California, and is dual-majoring in Government and Data Science. Her interest in state and local government arose from her experiences with journalism and Mock Trial in high school. At CMC, Liann is a member of the Mock Trial team and the Claremont Consulting Group, as well as a Handley Leadership Fellow for women in leadership development. In her free time, Liann enjoys reading, writing, and experimenting with gardening. Photo courtesy of Liann Bielicki '24.
Helen A. Bovington ’24 Helen is from Helena, Montana (no relation) and is majoring in the 3-2 program; economics and electrical engineering. Helen’s interest in state and local politics started in high school when she paged at the Montana State Senate. The political issues she is most interested in are energy policy, sustainable local infrastructure development, and tribal politics on Montana’s seven reservations. The past year, Helen researched Montana politics and did an internship focused on the global supply chain of semiconductors in Ontario, California. Outside of the Rose, Helen sits on the ASCMC Academic Affairs Committee, and in her free time, you can find her exploring the outdoors, dancing, waiting for ski season, or working on her physics homework.
Photo courtesy of Helen Bovington '24.
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES Audrey Donahue ’25 Audrey is from Seattle, Washington. She is dual majoring in Neuroscience and Public Policy at CMC.During the ’20-’21 academic school year, Audrey took a gap year and worked at Amazon in Seattle in a recruiting role for Human Resources. While living in Seattle, she became interested in local political issues surrounding people experiencing homelessness. She is passionate to continue learning about these issues while working at the Rose. In high school, she developed an interest in state and local government by participating in several non-profit organizations and served as a Global Scholar for Water 1st International. Outside of the Rose, Audrey plays on the CMS lacrosse team, loves to ski, and cook. She spent four years in high school working at a cooking school.
Photo courtesy of Audrey Donahue '25.
Grace Hong ’24 Grace is from Arcadia, California, and is a government major with a legal studies sequence. Her interest in government started after competing on the “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution” team in high school and recognizing the importance of civic participation. On-campus, Grace is a part of APAM, CARE, Class Cabinet, and the Debate Union. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, painting, attempted iPhone photography, and obsessing over cute cats. Photo courtesy of Grace Hong '24.
Katherine A. Jackson ’25 Katherine is from Oakland, California. She is majoring in Government at Claremont McKenna College. Katherine’s interest in government stems from several courses she took on government and politics and participation in political clubs in high school, including Junior State of America, IGNITE, and Bay Area Student Activists. Katherine also attended the Close Up program. Her passion for politics grew even more while interning at Congressman Eric Swalwell’s District Office. Katherine enjoys long walks, photography, time with her family, and playing with her two dogs. Photo courtesy of Katherine Jackson '25.
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES
Ryan A.T. Lenney ’25 Ryan is from Mission Viejo, California, and is majoring in Public Policy. He developed an interest in state and local government through his work on housing and homelessness policy in Orange County. At the Rose, Ryan is excited to continue analyzing issues facing Californians and the policies designed to address them. In his free time, Ryan enjoys surfing, rock climbing, astrophotography, and a good road trip with friends.
Photo courtesy of Ryan Lenney ’25.
Catherine Murphy ’24 Catherine, from Pleasanton, California, is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations. Her passion for politics and government stemmed from her dad always listening to National Public Radio and reading the Economist. She became interested in state politics after researching California’s primary elections with CMC Professor Andrew Sinclair. At the Rose, Catherine is excited to continue working on primary elections and public opinion surveys, as well as develop quantitative analytical skills and working with outside organizations. Outside of the Rose, Catherine plays on the CMS Women’s Lacrosse team, and in her free time, she likes to go the beach, make hell-thrown pottery, and watch Marvel movies.
Photo courtesy of Catherine Murphy '24.
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INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES
Adamaris Sanchez ’24 Adamaris, from South Los Angeles, is studying Public Policy and Legal Studies. On-campus she is involved with ASCMC as the presidential advisor of low-income advocacy, the Office of Admissions as student director of campus tours and visits, the Soll Center for Student Opportunity, and now the Rose. In her free time, she enjoys exploring bookstores across California, cooking, volunteering with her community’s local hospital outreach program, and running! Adamaris started running marathons in 7th grade and she is currently training for her 7th marathon. Within government, she is interested in the sectors of education, health care, and welfare.
Photo courtesy of Adamaris Sanchez '24.
Thomas D. Y. Short POM ’24 Thomas is from Mercer Island, Washington, and is majoring in Economics at Pomona College. In high school, his interest in politics and policy led him to join the student senate and to take his first economics class, which would lead him to pursue the subject further in college. While learning virtually, he served as part of the ASPC Covid-19 student advisory committee and has since enjoyed getting to know the 5C community better in person. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to hip hop, keeping up with international politics, and playing basketball.
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Photo courtesy of Thomas Short POM '24.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW HIRES
Pieter van Wingerden ’24 Pieter is from Hong Kong and is a Government major with a minor in Art History and a sequence in Legal Studies. At the Rose, Pieter is excited to research California’s security policies and contribute to the publication of white papers. At CMC, he has been an Arthur A. Adams Fellow in International Strategic Studies, a member of the inaugural class of the Gould Center Fellows Program, and a left-handed pitcher for the CMS baseball team. Outside of CMC, he has held positions at Fine Art Asia and Art Central. In his free time, Pieter can be found re-watching Homeland, throwing baseballs at Arce Field, or enjoying double espressos. Pieter is hoping to pursue a career in Entertainment and Art law.
Photo courtesy of Pieter van Wingerden '24.
Nolan Windham ’25 Nolan is from Los Angeles, California, pursuing a major in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics with a sequence in Computer Science. Nolan’s interest in state and local government is rooted in his passion for effective public policy and his experience in competitive speech and debate. At the Rose, Nolan is looking forward to conducting meaningful research using sophisticated data extraction & analysis techniques. Nolan is also a member of P-ai and the Debate Union. In his free time, Nolan enjoys working on a variety of creative projects. Photo courtesy of Nolan Windham '25.
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SUMMER UPDATES Katherine Adelman ’22 Katherine spent her summer working for a real estate development firm, The NRP Group, in New York City. She helped the firm draft applications to secure state, local, and federal funds to develop multifamily affordable housing projects in the New York City metro area. She loved developing relationships with local officials and community partners, whose support is necessary in the effort to create a more equitable housing landscape in the region. Katherine enjoyed applying her knowledge of state and local government operations in a new, important arena and hopes to bring these experiences back to her work at the Rose.
Anna Green ’21 21 Anna spent the summer as a research intern at Monument Lab, a Philadelphia-based public history studio. She worked on their recently-published National Monument Audit, a Mellon Foundationfunded investigation into existing datasets capturing the American commemorative landscape. This research allowed her to continue exploring public art and monuments, a topic she studied extensively for her honors thesis, “Set in Stone? A Civic Education Approach to Monumental Decision-Making in the United States.” She is extremely grateful to have had this opportunity to work with an amazing group of scholars, artists, activists, and fellow students while discovering new ways to combine her passion for public art and community-building. Anna is also appreciative to everyone who worked to create, distribute, and administer vaccines, which allowed her to meet her coworkers at Monument Lab’s flagship Philadelphia field office for a summer gathering! Now back on campus for her final semester, Anna is excited to spend time with Rosies in the workroom while procrastinating on her post-grad job search.
Gait Nairn ’22
Anna Green ’21 (left) and Katherine Adelman ’21 in New York City this past summer. Photo courtesy of Anna Green and Katherine Adelman
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Gait spent his summer in sunny San Luis Obispo while working remotely for the Thornburg Foundation, a nonprofit based out of Santa Fe. He contributed to the foundation’s efforts in good government, water policy, and K-12 education. As a data science and policy intern, Gait wrote survey reports about ranked-choice voting, collaborated with the Citizen Redistricting Committee to determine the historical cost of redistricting, and created an extensive report of various key metrics for K-12 education in New Mexico through the tracking of historic and current student performance and educator quality on both a statewide and district-wide basis.
SUMMER UPDATES Nandini Jayaram ’22
Jensen Steady ’22
Nandini completed a summer internship in the Global Finance & Business Management program at JPMorgan Chase & Co. In this internship, one of her key tasks was to lead a multi-officeteam of five summer analysts that simplified and automated the data input process of a new hire tracker. The team designed an instruction manual for use by senior program managers in talent retention planning. This program allowed Nandini to strengthen her data analysis and visualization skills, which she will apply to her work on her IEO article about 2020 Census data collected on the Inland Empire.
This summer, Jensen worked as a Public Policy and Regulation Intern at Holland & Knight. In this role, he worked in a variety of areas tracking legislation and assisting clients. He was especially focused on infrastructure, housing, and rail policy, as well as Native American affairs. Back on campus, Jensen is excited about the opportunity to take more classes in the policy space, as well as to reconnect with friends and professors. He is particularly excited about working as the Rose Institute’s New Hire Manager this year.
María Gutiérrez-Vera ’22 This summer, María participated in the Public Policy Institute of America’s (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI), based at the University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy. They took graduatelevel courses in Policy Communications, Statistics, and Academic Planning, expanding their wealth of knowledge on all things policy. PPIA provides preparation for future graduate work in these fields, as well as extensive connections and scholarships. This program allowed María to develop great connections and gain insight into public policy careers. Now back on campus, María is excited to apply their newly expanded policy knowledge to their Rose work, and spend time with other Rosies in the workroom.
Robin Peterson ’22 Robin completed Cadet Summer Training (CST) in Fort Knox, Kentucky, her final step before commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant. At camp, she learned what it meant to be a platoon leader, and completed events such as obstacle courses and qualifying on the shooting range. Following CST graduation, Robin was awarded a Keck Center Fellowship in Security Studies, where she conducted research on the start of the Iraq War. In doing so, she prepared to shift her attention to her thesis on Women and War in Afghanistan. Finally back on campus, Robin is excited to bring her extensive research and leadership skills to the Rose workroom.
Maya Ghosh ’22 Maya worked at a small New York City consulting firm. She greatly enjoyed her experience and is grateful to have had the opportunity to try a new line of work and live in a new city. Though she does not think that consulting is the best long-term option for her, Maya met amazing people and mentors this past summer. Robin Peterson ’22 at Cadet Summer Training. Photo courtesy of Robin Peterson'22
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SUMMER UPDATES Adhitya Venkatraman ’22
Nathan Tran POM ’23
Adhitya worked at Cisco Systems as a machine learning intern on the Telemetry team. Focused on modeling productivity, he developed the underlying code for a patent-pending tool to analyze workflows and identify bottlenecks. This opportunity helped Adhitya bridge his interest in labor economics with computer science, and explore the data science industry more broadly. With the Rose returning to campus, Adhitya is excited to modernize Rose projects with new tools and spend time with Rosies both new and old.
Nathan approached the pandemic as an opportunity to return to his roots in local politics. He spent the summer of 2020 managing a county supervisorial campaign and staffing several other candidates for local office, and then spent the summer of 2021 assisting campaigns in the Midwest. Now, Nathan serves as the youngest-ever board member of the San Joaquin County Democratic Party, where he devises strategies impacting elections and policy issues throughout his community. All of these experiences have sharpened Nathan’s expertise with communications, team leadership, and policy analysis, three skills that he looks forward to applying as the Rose’s Publications and Outreach Manager.
Tara Mehra ’23 Tara worked remotely as a Research Assistant for Professor Shanna Rose on her upcoming book project. In this role, she embraced her love for qualitative and quantitative public policy research by using primary sources to outline a legislative history of the Fair Labor Standards Act and creating a database for a quantitative analysis of congressional voting patterns on wage policy. Tara also interned part-time with TalksOnLaw, a company that creates a continuing legal education product. As a Research Intern, she prepared lawyer-facing briefs on regulations in various practices, including digital asset management and cybersecurity in private funds. This semester Tara is participating in Claremont McKenna’s Washington Program and working as a Research Intern at the Brookings Institution Center for Effective Public Management.
Daniela Corona ’23 Danny continued building on her research from last year with Professor Sinclair, focusing on New York’s executive offices and accountability. She collected election data on executive offices going back to 1900. She also worked on the California and New York survey report. This year, Danny looks forward to working alongside her fellow Rose research assistants. ROSE REVIEW | Page 14
Nathan Tran '23 canvassing voters in Detroit, Michigan. Photo courtesy of Nathan Tran '23.
Henry Schulz ’22 This past summer, Henry worked on Senator Chuck Schumer’s press team in his Majority Leader office. He tracked Leader Schumer’s media coverage, wrote press briefings for the communications team, and monitored other news in Washington DC for Senate Democrats. His experience this summer solidified his interest in political communications after graduation.
SUMMER UPDATES Marshall Bessey ’23 Marshall participated in Claremont McKenna’s summer research program, conducting research with Professor Heather Ferguson on the impact of Islamic law on emerging ideas of gender and race. He also managed the Rose’s project with the City of Ontario, analyzing the City’s key performance indicators relative to its peers in the region. Marshall is currently participating in Claremont McKenna’s Washington Program and interning for Congressman Scott Fitzgerald. He looks forward to returning to the Rose Institute in the spring and bringing all of his new expertise to his work.
Cameron Stevens ’23 Cameron spent the summer in Park City, Utah, and worked as an intern for Treadmetrix, a rapidly growing biomechanic start-up. Cameron worked with many of Treadmetrix’s clients, including the University of Utah School of Kinesiology and Mayo Health Clinic, to gather feedback and make recommendations for improvements to Treadmetrix products and software services. He also worked remotely for the Rose Institute with the City of Ontario to collect data on key performance indicators across city governments in the Inland Empire. These experiences exposed Cameron to new areas outside his traditional academic focus, and he is excited to apply his new skills and knowledge to his work with the Rose Institute back on campus.
Miriam Farah ’23 During the past summer, Miriam remotely interned at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, specifically with the Fair Housing and Community Development Project. Her work consisted of researching contributing factors to the housing crisis in the California Bay Area; drafting memoranda related to the intersection of nuisance ordinances, disability rights,
and racial justice; creating public education materials for other nonprofits; working closely with local housing authorities to make homes more accessible for people with disabilities; and more. Through this internship, Miriam learned more about state and local fair housing laws; housing discrimination based on race, income, and disability; and, in general, economic and political hurdles to fair housing in the U.S. She plans to apply this new knowledge to future Rose projects related to fair housing and homelessness, especially in California.
Desmond Mantle ’23 This summer, Desmond worked for the Reason Foundation, a think tank where he put his Rose skills to use analyzing the implications of policies regarding issues such as policing, drug abuse, and sex work. Desmond’s work has included collecting data from law enforcement and prosecutors, collaborating on a policy proposal, and writing commentaries for the Reason website. Desmond has continued to work with Reason over the fall. Back at the Rose, he plans to share many of the things he learned at Reason with the New Hire cohort as this year’s Training Manager. Desmond hopes that his work at both Reason and the Rose will help him evaluate policies in a thoughtful and rigorous way.
Sarah Simionas ’23 Sarah worked with Professor William Lincoln on a research project about the economic incentives behind firms’ lobbying practices. She conducted a literature review about the topic and collected output data from U.S. industries. Sarah learned about the process of developing a research project and encountered fascinating economic research. It shaped the skills and background knowledge she brings to her Rose projects, and she is thrilled to be able to work on projects more collaboratively now that we are back on campus. ROSE REVIEW | Page 15
ROSIES AT THE ATH
Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum Fellows Maya Ghosh ’22 ( from left), Maya Kurkhill ’23, and María Gutiérrez-Vera ’22. Photo courtesy of Claremont McKenna College.
Boasting a diverse range of prestigious speakers and scintillating discussions, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum has long been a mainstay of Claremont McKenna College's intellectual life. Each year, three Ath Fellows are chosen to host the Ath's programs, such that they introduce guests and moderate the Q&A session that follows each talk. This year is a particularly special one for the Ath, because all three of its Fellows are Rose research assistants! Congratulations to Maya Ghosh ’22, Maya Kurkhill ’23, and María Gutiérrez-Vera ’22 for accepting such honorable positions. Already, all three have proven exceptional at their roles, contributing significantly to the rich discourse that makes the Ath so unique. The Rose community is proud to see and support their leadership!
Maya Ghosh '22 engaging with guests at the Ath's first event of the year. Photo courtesy of Claremont McKenna College.
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Maya Kurkhill '23 introducing Naomi Bagdonas at her September 28, 2021 Ath talk. Photo courtesy of Claremont McKenna College.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Two Rose Institute alumni recently spoke at the Athenaeum: Ilan Wurman and Ian Ona Johnson, both of whom graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2009.
Ilan Wurman '09 speaking at the Athenaeum. Photo courtesy of Claremont McKenna College.
Ilan Wurman ’09 Ilan Wurman ’09 spoke at the Athenaeum on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. He delivered the Salvatori Center’s 20211 Lofgren Lecture on American Constitutionalism, speaking on the nation’s first civil rights struggle that culminated in the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the surprising meanings of the amendment’s guarantees of due process, the equal protection of the laws, and the privileges and immunities of citizenship. Wurman is an associate professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, where he teaches administrative law and constitutional law. He writes on administrative law, separation of powers, and constitutionalism, and his academic writing has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, and the Texas Law Review among other journals. He is also the author of “A Debt Against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism” (Cambridge 2017), and “The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment” (Cambridge 2020). Prior to entering academia, Wurman clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and practiced law for three-and-a-half years at Winston & Strawn in Washington, D.C. He also served as deputy general counsel on Rand Paul’s U.S. presidential campaign in 2015 and as associate counsel on Tom Cotton’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2014. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Claremont McKenna College.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Ian Ona Johnson ’09
Rose Institute Assistant Student Manager 2008-2009 Ian Johnson ’09 spoke at the Athenaeum on Thursday, October 21, 2021. His topic was Faustian Bargain: The Soviet-German Partnership and the Origins of the Second World War. Immediately after World War I and continuing for more than a decade, the German military and the Soviet Union—despite having been mortal enemies—entered into a secret partnership designed to Photo courtesy of Ian Ona Johnson. overturn the order in Europe. Centering on covert economic and military cooperation, their arrangement led to the establishment of a network of military bases and industrial facilities on Soviet soil. Through this alliance, Germany gained the space to rebuild its army. In return, the Soviet Union received vital military, technological, and economic assistance. Though Hitler ended their partnership in late 1933, he and Stalin would renew it in 1939. The result was the German - and then Soviet - invasion of Poland. Drawing from twenty archives in five countries, including new collections of declassified Russian documents, Johnson definitively explored of a shadowy but fateful alliance that led to the outbreak of the Second World War. Johnson is the P.J. Moran Assistant Professor of Military History at the University of Notre Dame. A historian of war, diplomacy, and technology, his research focuses on the origins and conduct of war, and the maintenance of peace. His first monograph, The Faustian Bargain: Secret Soviet-German Military Cooperation in the Interwar Period was published in 2021 by Oxford University Press. He has also edited the memoirs of a Russian veteran and revolutionary for publication, “The White Nights: Pages from a Russian Doctor’s Notebook.” He is currently working on a new manuscript exploring the military history of the early Cold War, with a focus on collective security and plans for an international military force. Johnson received his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 2016, with a dissertation that explored secret military cooperation between the Soviet Union and Germany in the interwar period. During graduate school, he was the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, as well as the OSU Presidential Fellowship. He graduated in 2009 from Claremont McKenna College, where he studied history and government. From 2015-2016, Johnson was a predoctoral fellow with International Security Studies at Yale University. Thereafter, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for National Security and a lecturer in the department of history at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2017, he returned to Yale University as the Associate Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and lecturer in the department of history. Johnson’s writing has also appeared in the National Interest, the Claremont Review of Books, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the Global Military Studies Review, the Journal of Global War Studies, Technology and Culture, and the Journal of Slavic Military Studies, among others.
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BOARD OF GOVERNORS SPOTLIGHT by Nathan Tran ’23 The Rose Institute's Board of Governors is comprised of a wide range of leaders in business and public policy. One of these leaders is Jessica Witt, who served as the Rose's Student Manager in 2000 and now lives in Fullerton with her husband Kyle, 3-year-old daughter Riley, and 15-month-old son Aidan. We reached out to Jessica with some questions about her personal and professional life since her time at the Rose. What has your professional life been like since you graduated from CMC? My dad worked in local government for 42 years, one of my sisters is a community college teacher and basketball coach, and another is a kindergarten teacher, so public service is the family business. I have mostly worked in the public sector, specifically the County of Orange. I started my career there as Deputy Chief of Staff to County Supervisor Chris Norby. I have also served as a Strategic Planning and Legislative Manager for OC Public Works and as the County's Deputy COO. I also earned my Master in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, participating in the program's City/County Fellowship. I have found county government to be a great fit for me professionally. I like that Orange County is quite large, with nearly 18,000 employees and a $7 billion annual budget, and has many gnarly challenges to address. Not everyone likes government work and not everyone is good at it, but if you are someone who likes it and is good at it, then I believe that you have a calling to serve. What is your current job at the County of Orange? What does it entail?
Photo courtesy of Jessica Witt ’00.
I currently serve as the Director of Government and Community Relations. In that role, I report directly to the County Executive Officer and sit as part of his executive team. I oversee the County’s legislative, communications, and administrative functions. I also liaise between the Board of Supervisors and the County departments. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to lead special projects such as the County’s 2020 census and subsequent 2021 redistricting efforts. Additionally, I help lead emergency response services for a variety of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent oil spill off the coast of Orange County. How did your experience at the Rose shape the trajectory of your career? I consider myself have lucky to have had the opportunity to work at the Rose Institute and attend Claremont McKenna College. As a result, I always look for ways to give back to the Rose, to CMC, and to the local government profession as a whole. The Rose connected me with wonderful mentors like Dr. Alan Heslop, Dr. Florence Adams, Dr. Steve Frates, Dave Huntoon, and more lifelong friends than I can ever name. As a sophomore, I led the San Gabriel Valley Database project and learned so much about data collection, analysis, and presentation, as well as how to organize a project and motivate a team to complete it. I fondly remember having the opportunity to present to entities such as the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership and being the youngest person in the room. In addition to learning research, presentation, and management skills, I learned early on to never ask anyone to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. I also developed a sense of duty to always give back, whether that be with time, treasure, or talent. Now, it is an honor to serve on the Board of Governors and help ensure that Rose students have an even more special experience than I did over 20 years ago! ROSE REVIEW | Page 19
THE ROSE IS GLAD TO BE BACK ON CAMPUS!
Photo courtesy of Adhitya Venkatraman '22
Student Management
Senior Staff
Nohl Patterson ’22
Kenneth P. Miller, JD, PhD
Student Manager
Adhitya Venkatraman ’22 Associate Student Manager
Rose Review Staff María Gutiérrez-Vera ’22 Nathan Tran POM ’23 Cameron Stevens ’23 Miriam Farah ’23
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Director
The mission of the Rose Institute is to enhance the education of students at Claremont McKenna C ollege, to produce high quality research, and to promote public understanding on issues of state and local government, politics, and polic y, with an emphasis on California. W W W.R O SEIN STI T U TE .OR G
Bipasa Nadon, JD Assistant Director
Marionette S. Moore Administrative Assistant