Speaker Profile

Cynthia (CC) is a doctoral candidate in Northwestern University's Human Development and Social Policy program. She strives to conduct policy-relevant research in the field of labor economics that is significant and innovative, informed by multiple disciplines, and addresses timely and socially relevant issues. Her current research employs econometric methods to draw causal conclusions regarding the impact of race-based affirmative action policies on hiring outcomes. Her dissertation focuses on measuring the impact of "soft" and "hard" affirmative action policies. "Hard" affirmative action policies mandate the direct consideration of minority status during the hiring process, while "soft" affirmative action policies are designed to change the composition of the candidate pool, rather than the criteria used during hiring. CC received a bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and a master's in public policy from the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy.