The Executive Board
The executive and editorial board of the Chicago Policy Review is comprised of graduate researchers acting within editor and director roles, the Board relies on research, scholarship and expertise to inform the publication of important issues. The board does not speak for the staff nor The Review as a whole.
Jake Interrante
Editor in Chief
Jake Interrante is Editor in Chief of the Chicago Policy Review. He is an MPP candidate ’21 at the Harris School of Public Policy and is a founding member of University of Chicago RadicalxChange. Previously, Jake worked as a policy professional in the community development finance field. As a Program Associate with Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s ONE Mortgage Program, he helped working class families buy homes in otherwise unaffordable parts of the State. Prior to that, he helped finance amenities in economically disadvantaged communities as Development Coordinator for Partners for the Common Good, a DC-based CDFI Loan Fund. His published work on comparative borrower outcomes in the ONE Mortgage program and FHA Mortgage Program appeared in the March 2020 edition of Cityscape. Jake also holds B.A.s in Public Policy and Political Science from the University of Chicago.
Follow on Twitter @JcInterrante
Sidhant Wadhera
Executive Editor
Sidhant Wadhera is the Executive Editor for the Cities, Energy & Environment, and Family & Education sections for the Chicago Policy Review. He is pursuing a M.P.P. at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Prior to that he was a technical research assistant for MDRC a non-profit in Manhattan conducting evaluations of social policy interventions. Sidhant is interested in policy evaluation, the application of data science tools for public policy, and policy communication. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Colgate University. In his spare time, Sidhant enjoys experimenting with new flavors in baked goods.
Follow on Twitter @SidhantWadhera
Ishan Nagpal
Executive Editor
Ishan is the Executive Editor for the Law & Politics, Economics, and Science & Technology section. He is a University of Chicago M.P.P. Candidate and an attorney licensed to practice in California. Prior to enrolling at University of Chicago, Ishan litigated over 50 criminal cases at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, including gang allegations and first-degree homicide. Further, at a Technology Litigation firm, he worked on an ITC investigation on behalf of a biotechnology startup. Ishan is interested in Empirical Legal Research as it relates to criminal justice, government transparency, data privacy, and antitrust.
Follow on Twitter @ish1215
James Miotto
Executive Editor
James “Jimmy” Miotto is an Executive Editor of the Chicago Policy Review. Prior to starting his Masters at the University of Chicago, Jimmy worked in international development in Washington, D.C. Jimmy graduated from Williams College in 2018 with a degree in Political Economy, writing a senior thesis on the opioid epidemic in the United States. In his free time, Jimmy also writes for Chiesa di Totti, an Italian soccer news site.
Follow on Twitter @JimmyMiotto
Akerah Mackey
Director of Equity & Inclusion
Akerah Mackey is the Director of Equity and Inclusion for the Chicago Policy Review. Prior to that, she worked in both local government and campaign research. She has worked for organizations such the Portland Bureau of Transportation, NAACP, and New America, to further their individual goals on equity and inclusion. And after a successful career working on equity and inclusion in both the private and public sectors, Akerah now is earning her Master’s of Public Policy and transitioning her career into housing development and community sustainability with a specific focus on equitable recovery.
Emily Elizabeth Dobson
Director of Operations
Emily Elizabeth Dobson is the Director of Operations for the Chicago Policy Review. Emily is currently a graduate student at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, where she is pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree. In her early career, Emily managed a multi-million dollar client portfolio at a business-to-business software firm. She later assisted near-homeless families obtain stable housing, secure full-time employment, and improve their net worth as an AmeriCorps VISTA. Emily’s policy interests include gender economics, generational poverty, and institutional barriers to equity. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Robert Mitchell
Director of Publications
Rob Mitchell is the Director of Publications for the Chicago Policy Review. Rob is pursuing an M.S. in Computational Analysis and Public Policy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Prior to that, he attained his B.S. in Mathematics and Political Science at the University of Alabama, where he researched the effects of multimember legislative districts on political polarization. Rob is from North Carolina, and his policy interests include voting rights and election systems.
Follow on Twitter @RobMitchellZone
Mark G. Sheppard
Director of Communications
Mark G. Sheppard is the Director of Communications for the Chicago Policy Review and also manages the Data Visualization team. Sheppard holds a Bachelors of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in Honors Legals Studies, concentrated in Law & Economics, with a minor in Public Policy and also holds a Masters of Arts in Political Economics from Georgetown University, in collaboration with the Solvay Brussels School of Economics. Sheppard is currently a research assistant for a number of faculty across the university and at the Harris School. Previously Sheppard worked as a congressional analyst.
Follow on Twitter @MarkGSheppard