AP-NORC Center Experts

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Lesley Turner

Associate Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Lesley J. Turner is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and CESifo research affiliate. Her research broadly considers the roles that government should play in providing, financing, and regulating education. Recent work examines how the incentives built into the current structure of the financing of higher education affects students and colleges, and the implications these responses have for students’ educational attainment, labor market outcomes, and financial wellbeing. She served as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary and Office of the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Education in 2022 and as an education fellow in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in 2018-19. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Turner was an Associate Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University and Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. She holds a joint B.A./M.P.P. program from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.

Lesley Turner

Associate Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Lesley J. Turner is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, faculty research fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and CESifo research affiliate. Her research broadly considers the roles that government should play in providing, financing, and regulating education. Recent work examines how the incentives built into the current structure of the financing of higher education affects students and colleges, and the implications these responses have for students’ educational attainment, labor market outcomes, and financial wellbeing. She served as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary and Office of the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Education in 2022 and as an education fellow in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in 2018-19. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Turner was an Associate Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University and Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. She holds a joint B.A./M.P.P. program from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita

Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita is the Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and a Faculty Associate in the University of Chicago Department of Political Science.

A leading political scientist whose research applies game theoretic models to the study of conflict, political violence, national security, and electoral politics, he has also written extensively on methodological issues in the social sciences. He writes and advises leaders in the public and private sectors on both national security matters and issues at the intersection of technology and society.

Prior to assuming the role of interim dean on March 1, 2023, Ethan served as Deputy Dean of the Harris School since 2011, as chair of the Pearson Institute Advisory Council, and as co-chair of Harris’ Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board. He is a member of the board of directors of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. Additionally, he served on the steering committee responsible for establishing the PhD in Political Economy and was a member of the Obama Presidential Center Faculty Partnership Advisory Committee.

He is the author or co-author of Political Economy for Public Policy, Theory and Credibility, and Thinking Clearly with Data (all from Princeton University Press) as well as many articles in both political science and economics. He has also written for outlets such as Foreign Policy, the Boston Review, the Harvard Business Review, War on the Rocks, the Chicago Tribune, the National Interest, and others. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the United States Institute of Peace.

Before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 2007, Ethan was a faculty member in the political science department at Washington University in St. Louis and was a Lady Davis Fellow and visiting faculty member at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Center for the Study of Rationality and Department of Political Science. Ethan is an alumnus of the University of Chicago, AB’96, and earned his MA (2000) and PhD (2003) in political science from Harvard University.

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita

Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Ethan Bueno de Mesquita is the Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and a Faculty Associate in the University of Chicago Department of Political Science.

A leading political scientist whose research applies game theoretic models to the study of conflict, political violence, national security, and electoral politics, he has also written extensively on methodological issues in the social sciences. He writes and advises leaders in the public and private sectors on both national security matters and issues at the intersection of technology and society.

Prior to assuming the role of interim dean on March 1, 2023, Ethan served as Deputy Dean of the Harris School since 2011, as chair of the Pearson Institute Advisory Council, and as co-chair of Harris’ Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board. He is a member of the board of directors of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. Additionally, he served on the steering committee responsible for establishing the PhD in Political Economy and was a member of the Obama Presidential Center Faculty Partnership Advisory Committee.

He is the author or co-author of Political Economy for Public Policy, Theory and Credibility, and Thinking Clearly with Data (all from Princeton University Press) as well as many articles in both political science and economics. He has also written for outlets such as Foreign Policy, the Boston Review, the Harvard Business Review, War on the Rocks, the Chicago Tribune, the National Interest, and others. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the United States Institute of Peace.

Before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 2007, Ethan was a faculty member in the political science department at Washington University in St. Louis and was a Lady Davis Fellow and visiting faculty member at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Center for the Study of Rationality and Department of Political Science. Ethan is an alumnus of the University of Chicago, AB’96, and earned his MA (2000) and PhD (2003) in political science from Harvard University.

Lindsey Witt-Swanson

Research Director II
Public Affairs and Media Research
Phone: (312) 256-1154

Witt-Swanson is a survey methodologist with 15 years of experience in the survey industry. She has led single and multi-mode research and evaluation projects for academics, state government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These projects stretch across multiple fields, including survey methodology, political science, sociology, educational psychology, agriculture, and education to name a few. She is well versed in collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. Witt-Swanson is adept at developing complex sample designs and multiple methods of data weighting. In addition to helping others with their research, Witt-Swanson has also sought to further knowledge in the survey methodology field through two publications and almost 50 conference presentations. She received her BA in Political Science at Creighton University and her MS in Survey Research and Methodology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. 

Lindsey Witt-Swanson

Research Director II
Public Affairs and Media Research
(312) 256-1154

Witt-Swanson is a survey methodologist with 15 years of experience in the survey industry. She has led single and multi-mode research and evaluation projects for academics, state government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These projects stretch across multiple fields, including survey methodology, political science, sociology, educational psychology, agriculture, and education to name a few. She is well versed in collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. Witt-Swanson is adept at developing complex sample designs and multiple methods of data weighting. In addition to helping others with their research, Witt-Swanson has also sought to further knowledge in the survey methodology field through two publications and almost 50 conference presentations. She received her BA in Political Science at Creighton University and her MS in Survey Research and Methodology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. 

Emily Alvarez

Senior Research Scientist
Public Affairs and Media Research
Phone: (312) 802-5653

Emily is a senior research scientist in the Public Affairs & Media Research department at NORC. She has a broad range of experience in social identity, environmental and energy policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, parenting and education, trust in government, and elections. She has a particular interest in distilling complex research findings for dissemination to stakeholders, journalists, and the broader public. She also serves as a member of NORC’s Institutional Review Board.

Emily currently serves as the project manager and survey operations lead for the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (FHWAR), the definitive source of data on participation and expenditures associated with fishing, hunting, and other wildlife-related recreation in the United States. She is also the survey operations lead for AP VoteCast, a modern, more accurate approach to election polling developed by the Associated Press and NORC.

Emily has also managed dozens of projects for The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, including the MTV/AP-NORC Youth Political Pulse, a series of polls of young people on their attitudes toward politics leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, and the Working Longer program, a series of studies on older Americans’ experiences preparing for retirement after the Great Recession. She holds a master’s in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Emily Alvarez

Senior Research Scientist
Public Affairs and Media Research
(312) 802-5653

Emily is a senior research scientist in the Public Affairs & Media Research department at NORC. She has a broad range of experience in social identity, environmental and energy policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, parenting and education, trust in government, and elections. She has a particular interest in distilling complex research findings for dissemination to stakeholders, journalists, and the broader public. She also serves as a member of NORC’s Institutional Review Board.

Emily currently serves as the project manager and survey operations lead for the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (FHWAR), the definitive source of data on participation and expenditures associated with fishing, hunting, and other wildlife-related recreation in the United States. She is also the survey operations lead for AP VoteCast, a modern, more accurate approach to election polling developed by the Associated Press and NORC.

Emily has also managed dozens of projects for The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, including the MTV/AP-NORC Youth Political Pulse, a series of polls of young people on their attitudes toward politics leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, and the Working Longer program, a series of studies on older Americans’ experiences preparing for retirement after the Great Recession. She holds a master’s in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Sam Ori

Executive Director
EPIC

Sam Ori is the Executive Director at EPIC and the Becker Friedman Institute. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to reducing American oil dependence in order to enhance economic and national security. From 2007 to 2013, Sam led SAFE’s policy work on a variety of topics, ranging from global oil and natural gas markets to transportation technology. Prior to joining SAFE, Sam spent four years working in the federal government at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Department of State, including at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Sam Ori

Executive Director
EPIC

Sam Ori is the Executive Director at EPIC and the Becker Friedman Institute. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Executive Vice President at Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to reducing American oil dependence in order to enhance economic and national security. From 2007 to 2013, Sam led SAFE’s policy work on a variety of topics, ranging from global oil and natural gas markets to transportation technology. Prior to joining SAFE, Sam spent four years working in the federal government at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Department of State, including at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.