In her second year as a Ph.D. student at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, Natalie's primary research focus is how public organizations design, organize, and use information systems. She is concentrating in information strategy and management as well as organizational theory.

In June of 2003, I came to CTG to work with Center Director Sharon Dawes to coordinate the editing of a publication from a symposium on digital government. I stayed with CTG after the symposium to work on an NSF-funded project that is exploring the need for and feasibility of a new journal dedicated to digital government research.

My work at CTG has allowed me to look deeper at the type of research, publications and resources dedicated to digital government research and has provided me with first hand experience being a project manager for a research grant.

I have also had the opportunity to conduct a lecture in Sharon Dawes' Strategies of Government Information Management class. We discussed the set up of the class, ways to teach the material, and how to grade students performance. I've been able to learn from a great teacher and hopefully that training will help my teaching in the future.

I worked in a variety of different organizations within the public and private sectors before returning to work on my Ph.D., and those experiences provided a strong foundation for my research agenda. I would like to continue doing research on digital government in addition to exploring the growing role of technology in society.

My experience at CTG has provided a learning environment, excellent resources, and interactions with smart people interested in the same things that I am interested in. I like CTG's approach to research because their focus is on working hand-in-hand with the governmental agencies implementing new programs using technology, and studying how it mixes with public policy. It is really one of a very few research centers of its size that focuses exclusively on public sector information systems.

I make Ukrainian Easter eggs, which are eggs that are dyed and decorated with different patterns and colors to represent different symbols and wishes.