Sarah Charnes
Senior Research Associate
Contact
SarahCharnes@westat.comOverview
Sarah Charnes, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate for Education and Social Policy with more than a decade of experience in economic and public policy research. Her work centers on means-tested benefit programs and the use of rigorous quantitative methods within multimethod research designs. Charnes has worked across multiple policy domains to strengthen the generation, management, and use of data to inform program and policy decisions. She brings expertise across the full data life cycle, including data governance, administrative data use, data collection, and applied statistical analysis to support evidence-based policymaking.
Her portfolio spans food and nutrition assistance programs, including research on food insecurity. Charnes leads efforts in data collection and analysis of participant characteristics, develops advanced approaches for detecting anomalies in pricing data, and directs systematic evidence assessments.
Education
- PhD, Public Policy and Management, University of Washington
- MS, Public Policy and Management, University of Washington
- MA, Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University
- BS, Economics, Truman State University