The Team — COMMUNITIES SPEAK

Meet the Team

Communities Speak is a cross-disciplinary project. The team is led by five prominent Columbia University faculty members: Ester Fuchs, Sarah Holloway, Robert Shapiro, Noémie Elhadad, and Mayor Michael Nutter from the School of International and Public Affairs and the Columbia University Medical Campus, Department of Biomedical Informatics. The project is directed by Ashley MacQuarrie, an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia University, and staffed by research officers and graduate research assistants from the university’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Ester R. Fuchs, Columbia University

Ester R. Fuchs is Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science and is the Director of the Urban and Social Policy Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Ashley MacQuarrie, Columbia University

Ashley MacQuarrie is an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia University and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Dr. MacQuarrie specializes in public-private partnerships, policy reform, education reform, data-driven policymaking and data-driven community engagement which she has practiced over the last 15 years working in both New York City and her native Detroit.
Michael Nutter, Columbia University

Michael Nutter is the David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs. After serving almost 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council, Michael A. Nutter was elected the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia in November 2007 and took office in January 2008.
Robert Shapiro, Columbia University

Robert Y. Shapiro is a professor and former chair of the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, and he served as acting director of Columbia’s Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP) during 2008–2009.
Sarah Holloway, Columbia University

Sarah Holloway has worked in the NYC public and nonprofit sector in NYC for 3 decades at the intersection of education, equity and access. She is currently a full-time member of the SIPA faculty where she teaches Nonprofit Financial Management, Social Entrepreneurship and Design for Social Innovation.
Noémie Elhadad, Columbia University

Dr. Noémie Elhadad is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, affiliated with Computer Science and the Data Science Institute at Columbia University.