The Rockefeller Center Welcomes Kristin Smith

The Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences welcomes Professor Kristin Smith, MPH, Ph.D., who joins our team as Director of the Policy Research Shop, as well as Visiting Research Associate Professor of Sociology. In this position, Professor Smith will teach PBPL 45, Introduction to Public Policy Research, the course which serves as the training ground for students wishing to serve in the Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop (PRS). Students who work for the PRS engage in applied policy-relevant research for clients, such as VT or NH legislators or judges, on a pressing public policy issue. The students are mentored by professors and post-doctoral students working with the PRS. All the policy briefs are produced for clients on a pro bono basis.

The Director of the Rockefeller Center, Professor Jason Barabas, said, "Having Dr. Smith in the Rocky faculty roster is extraordinarily helpful, and we look forward to having her guide the highly respected Policy Research Shop."

Smith joined the Sociology department in 2019 as a Visiting Research Associate Professor of Sociology. Prior to 2019, Smith engaged in policy research at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Her research focuses on gender inequality, earnings and employment, and work and family policy. She has researched labor force issues, including gender differences in job retention and shifting determinants of women's labor supply and the consequences of those shifts. Smith's expertise lies in examining trends in how work and family life interconnect, developing workforce policy recommendations, and applying a gender lens to her analysis. She has a broad background in demography and sociology, including experience in survey design and implementation, and the quantitative analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Smith shared, "I am thrilled to be part of Rocky and look forward to working with students and NH and VT legislators and judges on policy-relevant research that will inform policy-making at the state level."

To learn more about Prof. Smith, please read her bio here. Please join us in welcoming her to our team.