A partial list of current students.
 Seth Avakian, PhD. candidate, Seth Avakian is the Prevention Specialist at the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response at Harvard University. As the Prevention Specialist, he focuses on outreach to men while working with the wider Harvard community to increase awareness and to educate about sexual assault and dating violence. He also curates and nurtures menspeakup.org, generating unique media and blogging to promote gender equality and sexual respect.Previous to his work at Harvard, Seth focused on residential education at Northeastern University and the University of California–Santa Barbara. During his time as full-time staff and a part-time doctoral student in Law, Policy, and Society at Northeastern University, Seth also served as adjunct faculty in the College Student Development and Counseling master’s program. Seth also worked in the Dean of Students Office at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, where he earned his B.A. in Political Science and a Master’s of Higher Education Administration. His passion for social justice also includes cross-cultural communication, using media to enhance learning, and the psychology of groups and power. Seth is currently working on his dissertation, focusing on higher education policy, neoliberalism, the for-profit sector, and civic engagement.
Publications It’s Complicated. A Men’s Guide to Hooking Up, Relationships, and College Life (in press) Safer Society Press, Brandon, VT |
| Michael Burns, PhD. candidate, Master of Business Administration, Northeastern University (1988) Master of Science in Taxation, Northeastern University (2000)) Master of Science in Financial Planning, Bentley College (2006))Currently Mike is working at Sun Life Retirement Services in Boston. He has worked in several mutual fund companies, banks, and software companies, in technical and communications roles, most recently as a tax researcher and writer, policies and procedures manager, and product developer for financial institutions. Mike’s interests are in political economics and moral and political philosophy, especially concentrating in social welfare and most specifically, taxation policies. |
| Joao L. Carapinha, PhD. candidateJoão is currently completing his PhD in Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University in Boston. His doctoral course modules include among others: Global Business Regulation, Economics and Law, International Economic Development, Strategizing Public Policy and his research concerns medicine access and use disparities among patients with chronic illnesses in developing countries. He completed his Masters degree in Public and Development Management (Economic Policy and Public Finance) and a Bachelor of Pharmacy at Wits University in Johannesburg. Over the years he has supplemented his education with programs from the Institute of Directors in South Africa, Harvard Business School (Strategic Negotiations and Executive Leadership Program), and the World Health Organization (Evidence Based Medicine and the Economic Evaluation of Medicine). Work Experience João is currently a public policy analyst and consults at Harvard Medical School on pharmaceutical policy in developing countries. He also coordinates the Internationalization Project at Northeastern University School of Pharmacy and assists with the delivery of pharmacoeconomics and research methods courses. He worked at Roche as their Senior Market Access Manager where he was responsible for all health economic and reimbursement matters related to biologic medicines. This included reimbursement negotiations with healthcare funders, pricing analyses, pharmacoeconomic analyses and liaising with government departments. Prior to joining Roche he worked at Wyeth as a Market Access Manager. João was also faculty at Wits University School of Pharmacy where much of his research and teaching concerned pharmaceutical policy, and his work as a Professional Development Manager at the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa included pharmaceutical and health policy advocacy and working with government institutions. Leadership and Contribution Some of his key leadership contributions include: i) National Executive Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa, ii) Vice-President of the Administrative Pharmacy Section of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, iii) Chairman of the Health Economics Assessment Team (HEAT) of the Pharmaceutical Industry Association of South Africa, and iv) Director of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, South Africa Chapter – a chapter he co-founded. João has contributed 26 public presentations mostly concerned with domestic and international pharmaceutical policy, 13 peer reviewed journal publications, and assisted or led 4 significant high impact pharmaceutical policy projects. Publications 1. Carapinha, J. (2006) The Value of Medicine in Improving the Quality of Care. South African Family Practice, 2006;48(10):6-10. 2. Carapinha J. Producing Affordable Medicines in South Africa. In: Cohen JC, Illingworth P, Schuklenk U, editors. The Power of Pills. Maryland: Pluto Books; 2006. 251-259. 3. Carapinha, J. (2008) Setting the Stage for Risk-Sharing Agreements: International Experiences and Outcomes-based Reimbursement. South African Family Practice, 2008;50(4):62-65. 4. Carapinha, J. (2008) Policy Guidelines for Risk-sharing agreements in South Africa. South African Family Practice, 2008;50(5):43-46. 5. Carapinha, J. (2008) Private pharmacies in an integrated approach to HIV/AIDS services. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, 2008 December; 5(4): 206-209. 6. Carapinha, J. (2008) An Integrated Approach to HIV/AIDS Services in South Africa: Private Pharmacies and Policy Recommendations. Africa Policy Journal, Spring/Summer 2008 Edition. Volume 4. Harvard Kennedy School of Government. 7. Carapinha, J, Ross-Degnan, D, Desta, AT, and Wagner, AW (2011). “Health insurance systems in five Sub-Saharan African countries: medicine benefits and data for decision making.” Health Policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 99(3): 193-202. |
| Sarah Damberger, PhD. candidate, Originally from Minnesota, Sarah moved to Boston in 2006 and shortly afterwards joined the Law and Public Policy Ph.D program. Her primary interests are researching cultural and public policy, with a particular focus on the role that cultural organizations play in promoting community health. She received an M.A. in Arts Administration from Saint Mary’s University (2005) and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Minnesota (2002). In addition to her studies in the LPP Ph.D program, Sarah recently joined Northeastern’s Doctorate in Law and Policy program as a Doctoral Fellow specializing in two areas: research models, analysis, and applications, and law and policy. Sarah also serves as editor for Northeastern’s new peer-reviewed journal, the E-Journal of Applied Law and Policy.Professionally, Sarah has broad experience in nonprofit and cultural management, including experience in fundraising, marketing, evaluation, and board relations. Among her current projects, Sarah is creating a teacher’s manual for the upcoming edition of Elementary Statistics in Social Research: The Essentials, by James Alan Fox and Jack Levin. She serves as a volunteer Gallery Associate for the Mills Gallery at the Boston Center for the Arts and provides guidance for a variety of nonprofit establishment and funding projects. |
 Fabio de Sá e Silva, PhD. candidate, is a research and planning specialist at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA), a major think-tank in Brazil, where he has also served as the Coordinator of studies on State and Democracy and currently works as the President’s Chief of Staff. Before joining Ipea, Fabio was involved in several projects on justice and security reform in Brazil with a special focus on promoting access to justice and improving the criminal justice system in that country. Fabio holds a law degree from the University of São Paulo School of Law (USP) and a Master of Laws from the University of Brasilia School of Law (UnB). He is currently a PhD candidate in Law, Policy, and Society at Northeastern University (Boston, MA) on a CAPES-Fulbright fellowship. His main areas of interest are: the role of law and lawyers in systems of governance, globalization, rule of law, and the institutionalization of public interest law systems in developing and transitional countries, topics in which he has taught and published extensively. |
Jerome Dean, PhD. candidate, Jerome earned his BS in Urban and Regional Studies and his Master’s in Regional Planning from Cornell University. His current interests are in the connections between social policies and social movements of the past few decades and their effects on labor market outcomes. He has worked over the past decade and a half in workforce development primarily in Boston. |
Marina Draper, PhD. candidate, Marina is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Master of Science in Drug Regulatory Affairs and Health Policy. Marina is a regulatory professional in the biotechology and pharmaceutical sector where she develops chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) licensing strategies for domestic and international markets. Marina has worked for prominent companies such as Genzyme, Wyeth, and sanofi Pasteur and is presently completing the Law and Public Policy (LPP) Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree at Northeastern University. Her focus is in Health Policy, with additional scholarly interests in drug law and regulation, health policy and politics, public health, and social research. For her Ph.D. research, Marina is developing a survey which will be fielded in Massachusetts about knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and system level barriers to herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination coverage. Marina’s Ph.D. Dissertation will focus on legal and policy barriers with shingles vaccine uptake and put forth legal and public policy reform strategies to address barriers to uptake.
 Dante Gatmaytan, PhD. candidate, Dan teaches Constitutional Law, Legal Method, and Local Government Law among other subjects at the University of the Philippines, College of Law. His primary research interests are now concentrated on constitutional amendments, the interaction of law and politics, and comparative constitutionalism.Before he entered the academe in 1998, Professor Gatmaytan practiced law through public interest law offices involved in environment and natural resources law, indigenous peoples’ rights, agrarian reform, and local governance.He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from the Ateneo de Manila (B.S. Legal Management) and he holds Masters Degrees from Vermont Law School (cum laude) and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is working towards a PhD in Law and Public Policy at Northeastern University in Boston.Publications • Averting Diversity: A Review of Nominations and Appointments to the Philippine Supreme Court (1988-2008), Asian Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 3 (with Cielo Magno). • Crafting Policies for the Guantánamo Bay Detainees: An Interbranch Perspective, The DePaul Rule of Law Journal (Fall 2010), pp. 1-18 • Judicial Restraint and the Enforcement of Environmental Rights in the Philippines, Oregon Review of International Law, vol. 12, no. 1 (Spring 2010), pp. 1-30 • Can Constitutionalism Constrain Constitutional Change?, Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review, vol. 3, no. 1 (Winter/Spring, 2010), pp. 22-38 • Changing Constitutions: Judicial Review and Redemption in the Philippines, UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal, vol. 25, no. 1 (2007), pp. 1-24 • Artificial Judicial Environmental Activism: Oposa v. Factoran as Aberration, Indiana International & Comparative Law Review, vol. 17, no. 1 (2007), pp. 1-28 • It’s All the Rage: Popular Uprisings and Philippine Democracy, Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal, vol. 15, no. 1 (2006), pp. 1-37 • The Illusion of Intergenerational Equity: Oposa v. Factoran as Pyrrhic Victory, Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, vol. 15, no. 3, (2003), pp. 457-485 • Death and the Maid: Work, Violence, and the Filipina in the International Labor Market, Harvard Women’s Law Journal, vol. 20 (Spring 1997), pp. 229-262 |
 Erika Gerstenberger, Master’s student, Erika is from a small town in upstate New York. She enjoys reading, hiking, soccer, and taking care of animals. Erika joined the LPP program because she wanted to learn about how policies and laws are developed. |
 Anne-Marie Hakstian, PhD. candidate, Anne-Marie Hakstian is an Associate Professor at the Bertolon School of Business at Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts where she teaches courses in business law. She holds a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.Anne-Marie’s research interests focus on race and gender discrimination. Both independently and in collaboration with co-authors, Anne-Marie has published articles in the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law (2006), the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing (2005), the Law Enforcement Executive Forum (2005), the University of Michigan Journal of Race and Law (2003), and the Boston College Third World Law Journal (2003). Her research was included in the NAACP’s “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in Arguello v. Conoco (September 2003). She has presented findings of her research in venues across the country and internationally. Prior to joining academia, Anne-Marie worked as a consultant to federal government agencies on all aspects of Equal Employment Opportunity law and policy. In addition to investigating claims of discrimination and writing Final Agency Decisions, she designed, developed, and conducted customized training sessions for public and private client organizations. |
| Elizabeth Hayden, PhD. candidate, Elizabeth has a BA in English and Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross. She has a MA in Community Psychology with a concentration in Program Evaluation and Development from the University of New Haven. In addition, she has done graduate work at Harvard University in Irish Studies. Elizabeth teaches Research Methods at Bridgewater State College. She is a also a consultant and program evaluator for non-profit organizations. Her most recent evaluation project involves the Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society, in particular the “Project Teamwork” program which is a conflict-resolution program offered to middle school and high school students.Her research interests include welfare law and policy, developing evaluation theory, post-structural practices and theory, Bayesian methodology, and international as well as cross-cultural evaluation. |
 Erin Hoffer, Erin is Industry Programs Manager with Autodesk Inc, where she fosters awareness in the trends in design and practice. Previously, she was Executive Vice-President for the Boston Architectural College, overseeing programs for students pursuing professional design degrees. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and member of the AIA. Erin received a Master in Architecture from UCLA, an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and is a registered architect in California. Her specialization/interest areas is Technology Policy and Sustainability Policy for Design and Construction. |
 Sonya Larrieux, PhD. candidate, Sonya is director of the post baccalaureate Doctor of Physical Therapy programs at Northeastern University. As faculty member in NU’s PT department she teaches courses addressing the foundations of Physical Therapy, human development, neurological management and PT professional seminars. Sonya attained her undergraduate degree in Physical Therapy and Psychology from Hunter College and master’s degree in Applied Physiology from Columbia University. She has practiced in various areas of physical therapy but pediatric rehabilitation - specifically the developmentally and neurologically impaired child - is the focus of her clinical practice. She consults with a Boston early intervention program.Sonya’s focal points of interest lie in disparities in health and health care and the delivery of culturally competent health care. A significant amount of the service component of her work has an emphasis on workforce development among secondary school students via enrichment an acculturation to potential medical and health professions as a means to address these compelling issues in healthcare. Through programs and initiatives with the Boston Public School’s Health Careers Academy, she coordinates a Meet the Healthcare Professional speaker series, an NU/HCa Shadowing Day and will be initiating a mentor program between Bouve College and HCa students in Fall 2007. Sonya hopes to pursue this area of interest for research in the LPP program. |
 Cielo Magno, PhD. candidate, Cielo attended the LPP program as a Fulbright scholar. She is a PhD candidate with a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining the program Cielo worked with different nongovernment organizations, and government institutions. She also worked on anti-corruption initiatives and tax administration reform with the Department of Finance. While working on her dissertation, she works as a consultant for international donor agencies on issues of community development, peace building and conflict; social accountability and public finance. She also works as a policy consultant at the Technical Education Skills and Development Agency (TESDA) of the Philippines. She continues to do research on policies regulating the pharmaceutical industry and public’s access to medication and health services. She is also a full time mom to her two kids, three dogs and a cat.Her current research and publications include:Gladys Sta. Maria, Cielo Magno, Leilani Galvez and Jessica Cantos (2011). Sourcebook on Local Public Finance. UNDP-Social Watch Philippines.Dante Gatmaytan & Cielo Magno (2011). Averting Diversity: A Review of Nominations and Appointments to the Philippine Supreme Court (1988-2008), Asian Journal of Comparative Law Cielo Magno (2011). Six country comparative study on policies regulating the Pharmaceutical Industry. Quezon City; United Laboratories Incorporated. Cielo Magno (2010). Comparative Case Study on Social Accountability Initiatives: Inception, Evolution and Sustainability. Alternative Network for Social Accountability (ANSA) Global. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Brac University. Hortensia Amaro; Cielo Magno-Gatmaytan; Michael Meléndez; Dharma E. Cortés; Sandra Arevalo; Arthur Margolin (2010). Addiction treatment intervention: an uncontrolled prospective pilot study of Spiritual Self-Schema therapy with Latina women, Substance Abuse, 1547-0164, 31(2):117 – 125. |
| Raimundo J. Matos, PhD. candidate, Raimundo has eleven years of experience as an environmental consultant conducting cost-effective regulatory closures at industrial/commercial properties across the New England area, New York, Puerto Rico and Latin America. Raimundo also serves as environmental regulatory and policy advisor for both US-based and international corporations throughout Latin America; including advising on jurisdiction-specific environmental policy issues and risks and representing clients in negotiations and hearings before the local environmental authorities. He is a licensed attorney in Puerto Rico and in the District of Columbia. His current research interest focuses on the policy implications of privatizing or outsourcing traditional government decision-making functions to private professionals; with a focus on the privatization of the cleanup of properties contaminated with hazardous materials. • Bachelor of Science, Geology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez • Master of Science, Geology, Carbonate Petrology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez • Juris Doctor/Master of Studies in Environmental Law, Catholic University of PR/ Vermont Law School |
| Janet Rico, PhD. candidate, Janet is a Nurse Practitioner at Boston Medical Center, Boston, Mass. in the Emergency Department. Janet earned her Masters in Business Administration-Health Care Specialization (MS) at Boston University and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing at St. Anselm College. |
Christine Shaw, PhD. candidate, How did you come to choose LPS/LPP? I selected the LPP program specifically for the expertise of the faculty and research projects faculty at NEU are involved in. I had spent over a decade working in education and workforce development and was looking for a PhD program that would allow me to integrate both education policy and workforce development. The LPP faculty have a number of relevant and current initiatives in both education policy and workforce development providing a perfect platform for my research and interests.
What experiences and/or projects were highlights during your study? My research involves looking at a traditionally non college bound population, Career and technical Education graduates, and exploring the college going practices of graduates over a 10 year period of time. I had the opportunity to assist with the development of a comprehensive high school to college database by the Center for Labor Market Studies which is the basis of my research.
How and/or why did you choose your dissertation topic? I am fundamentally interested in education policy targeting workforce development. If we step back for a moment, all education policy is ultimately targeting successful entrance into a career. However, we have a breakdown between the secondary educational experience, postsecondary opportunities and ultimate workforce needs. If we are to truly create a k-16 educational system, we must acknowledge where the breakdowns are and bridge gaps in both education opportunity and career/labor market information
Christine is the Executive Director of the Northeast Regional Readiness Center working with a consortium of postsecondary, district and community agencies around education initiatives. The program is part of the Executive office of Education, educator outreach efforts. In addition, I am a national fellow for the Association of Career and Technical Education working to farther policy efforts for Career and Technical Education at both state and national levels.
 David Wesley, PhD. candidate, David is the Research Program Manager for the College of Business Administration’s case research program. He joined Northeastern University’s College of Business in 1999 from the Richard Ivey School of Business where he was Latin America Program Director. His case studies have appeared in 20 management textbooks. He has helped several US and European universities develop their business research capabilities and he has provided advice on the creation of two successful Executive MBA programs. He is a founding member of the Institute for Global Innovation Management and is one of four faculty and staff members at the Northeastern University to be awarded the first National Science Foundation grant in the College of Business Administration’s history. He has written a book with Prof. Gloria Barczak titled Marketing and Innovation in the Video Game Industry: Avoiding the Performance Trap. |