Emily Davies

Emily (she/her) grew up in Elmira, New York. After earning her bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard University, Emily moved to New York City to work at MDRC, a social policy think tank, to pursue her interest in child welfare policy as a technical research assistant. After three years, Emily transitioned to public service as a NYC Urban Fellow, eager to deepen her understanding of policy implementation after witnessing the power of research to better inform policies. Emily learned about local government and urban challenges while working at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). Including the nine-month fellowship, she worked at NYC DOHMH for two years as the COVID-19 collateral surveillance coordinator managing data that captured the pandemic’s impact on public health. This past summer, Emily interned in the Sustainable Socioeconomic Transformation Section of the Social Development Division at the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok. After SPIA, Emily hopes to address holistic child welfare policy from an interdisciplinary perspective, merging her quantitative research background with policy expertise to improve systems and enhance the accessibility of resources so that families may flourish.