July 20, 2023

CERSE Welcomes Chassidy Wen, James Watkins, Rachel Funk Fordham, and Theresa Henry!

CERSE is thrilled to welcome CERSE’s newest team members, Chassidy Wen, James Watkins, Rachel Funk Fordham, and returning team member, Theresa Henry!

Chassidy is a third-year PhD student at the University of Washington’s Department of Sociology. Her research focuses on the Bubonic Plague and the targeted actions of government authorities towards Chinatowns, exploring the racialization of disease and the protective role of ghettos within these neighborhoods. Chassidy holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California Irvine.

James is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Sociology at the University of Washington. He was a site manager for a UW sociology project documenting homeless populations in King County and has actively volunteered with affordable housing organizations and social justice movements. He has a broad range of passions, also including universal access to healthcare, environmentalism, sustainability, and equal protection under the law for religious faiths and minority groups.

Rachel is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington, with research interests in democracy, institutions, inequality, and quantitative research methods. Rachel’s current work explores the influence of money in politics on the quality of democracy in the United States. She has a multidisciplinary background, holding an MA in Political Science from UW, as well as a BS in Statistics and a BA in International Studies from Utah State University.

Theresa is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Washington and researches financial inclusion and women’s empowerment in low- and middle-income countries. She has a deep background in economics, with an MA from the University of Washington and a BA from the University of Georgia.

We are thrilled for these individuals to be joining us and for their diverse areas of interest and expertise to bring new perspectives and strengthen our team! Read more >>