Corina Fung

Harris Public Policy, Class of 2024

Corina Fung is a Venezuelan economist with 5 years of experience in research and economic consulting. Motivated by Venezuela’s economic and social crisis, she sought to extend her impact beyond the confines of her office. This drive led her to join E-VEN Project, an NGO dedicated to teaching English in remote touristic communities in Venezuela, aiming to overcome communication barriers.
Through her involvement with E-VEN, Corina discovered a passion for leveraging policy to enhance people’s lives. However, her research background instilled in her the importance of an evidence-based approach to policy making. She decided to pursue a Master of Public Policy at the Harris School of Public Policy to acquire the right tools and knowledge for monitoring and evaluating policies. She worked as a Research Assistant at the Behavioral Insights & Parenting Lab, where she got the best of both worlds: working in the field and utilizing research to create evidence for better policies.
She’s now working in impact evaluation in the education sector in London, UK. She helps schools, universities, NGOs, charities, etc. to measure and assess their impact, scale up their programmes, and improve the way they work to help children reach their best potential.

Delaney Earley

Harris Public Policy, Class of 2024

Delaney Earley earned her Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Harris School at the University of Chicago in June 2024. During her time at Harris, she served as a Strategy Fellow at Chicago Public Schools and worked as a Research Assistant at the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab. These roles allowed her to support young people and grow as a policy practitioner. Currently, Delaney works as a Recovery Team Program Manager at the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) for the City of Chicago, where she oversees social service programs utilizing relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In her free time, Delaney enjoys reading, attending concerts, and cheering on women’s sports. She was honored to receive the 2024 Susan E. Mayer Award for Excellence in Field Research.

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Itzel Rangel Romero

Harris Public Policy, Class of 2024

Itzel Rangel Romero holds a Master’s in Public Policy with a specialization in Survey Research from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. While at Harris, she worked as a research assistant for the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab.
Before pursuing her graduate studies, Itzel moved to Chicago to serve the Mexican community as part of the Community Affairs Department at the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago. Additionally, she has ample experience working with non-profit organizations in Mexico, conducting research on police reform and civilian oversight of police agencies.
She is currently a Client Services Research Analyst for AmeriSpeak at NORC, where she supports various survey research projects.
Itzel earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City. Originally from Ensenada, Mexico, she enjoys spending her free time climbing with friends, riding her bike, and exploring the city in search of new snacks.

Maxine Xu

Harris Public Policy, Class of 2024

Maxine Xu is currently a data scientist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, where she leads data analysis, visualization, and statistical modeling initiatives to help the Community Development and Engagement team understand issues affecting low-income communities. She is deeply passionate about using data to address critical societal challenges and exploring the complexities of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Previously, Maxine worked as a research assistant at the BIP Lab while pursuing her Master’s degree in Computational Analysis and Public Policy at the University of Chicago. During her time at the lab, she contributed to the About TIME and Learning Curiosity projects. For the About TIME study, she developed a Python-based application to analyze sentiment and identify math-related language in video transcripts. She also retrieved and cleaned mobile game data critical to the project and designed research surveys for the Learning Curiosity project.
Maxine credits much of her growth during this time to the mentorship and guidance of Noah Liu, Ana Arellano Jimenez, and Andrés Barroso. Her experiences at the BIP Lab reinforced her interests in data science and enabled her to explore the transformative role of technology in enhancing children’s learning and development.