Our team comprises researchers drawn from leading economics departments who specialize in field experiments and evaluations of program in a range of development areas including: behavioral economics, microfinance, peer effects, rural development, and health.

Scott Bernstein Judge Scott Bernstein joins IPA Board with a long history of serving the community. Judge Bernstein was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court to the Statewide Commission for Families and Children in the Courts, where he also chaired the Delinquency Subcommittee. He served in the Criminal Division in 2003-2004, and eventually switched to the Family Division where he currently presides. He lectures and teaches statewide on Juvenile Court Issues, including the Juvenile law course for all newly appointed and elected Judges at Florida Judicial College. Judge Bernstein holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law.

Jonathan Gross Currently the Director of Strategy, Housing, and Community Development for Fannie Mae, Jonathan Gross blends a degree in law with professional experience in economics, marketing, and consultation. His prior work experience includes Project Grad USA, a non-profit dedicated to education reform in the United States, and Finca International, a non-profit microfinance organization with operations around the world. For his work with Finca International, Mr. Gross was based in El Salvador. Mr. Gross holds a B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Dean Karlan President and Founder of IPA; Assistant Professor of Economics at Yale University; Research Fellow at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT; Affiliate of Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD). His research focuses on microeconomic issues of public policies and poverty. He studies the effectiveness of particular policies to fight poverty or the relevance of economic theories of individual decision-making. Much of his work uses behavioral economics insights and approaches to examine economic and policy issues relevant in developing countries as well as in domestic charitable fundraising and political participation. He has consulted for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, FINCA International, and CGAP. Professor Karlan holds a B.A. from University of Virginia; an M.B.A and an M.P.P from the University of Chicago; and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT.

Alix Zwane Alix Peterson Zwane is a Program Manager at google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc, the internet search firm. At google.org, she manages the health and water component of a larger initiative that works to use information to improve the quality of public services for the poor. Prior to joining google.org, Alix was a member of the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley, where she performed randomized impact evaluations of water and health interventions herself. She received her PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University in 2002.