In the Spring of 2002 I took the course Foundations of Information Strategy and Management with Center Director Sharon Dawes, and the course strengthened my interest in the information and technology dimensions of government. As I moved to a Ph.D. program in the Fall of 2004, I gladly accepted the opportunity to work with CTG to get an hands-on experience of how to measure, analyze, apply, and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of technologies in public sector.

Prior to coming to CTG, I worked and still continue to work as a policy analyst with the Rockefeller Institute of Government. At the Rockefeller Institute I am working on making state and local government information more accessible to non-expert audiences. Thus I am working with large data sets on state and local government revenue, expenditures, and employment to identify and present trends and "fast facts" in a user-friendly way. At the Rockefeller Institute, I also worked on a project examining spending on social welfare programs in rich and poor states, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as on an eight-state study of state and local administration of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

My short-term goal is to complete my doctoral studies in the field of Information Systems.

I hope CTG will serve as a niche for a professional growth in the field of Information Systems. In addition, I hope CTG will serve as a solid platform for research and will help to build a network of relationships with both academic and non-academic colleagues not only in the USA but also worldwide.