BA, Economics and History, Brown University
MA, Political Science, University of Oklahoma
PhD student, SUNY Albany, Rockefeller College
“adamshepardson.com” is my personal website, serving as a landing page for my professional activities. I also started up a Substack that I promise to actually develop at some point 🙂
Meanwhile, this site exists because I figured that it was prudent to a) buy the domain name, and b) provide some basic information about myself to the public. Internet traffic and all that.
I suppose time will tell.
About Me
I grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, completing my K-12 education in the local public school system. Eventually, I found my way to Brown University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in 2022 after cultivating a fascination with the historical and economic factors that inform modern policy debates. This overarching academic theme, enriched through several illuminating experiences with political activism while an undergraduate student, motivated my decision to pursue further education. I earned a political science Master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2024, subsequently moving on to SUNY Albany’s Public Administration and Policy PhD program for the foreseeable future.
Given this background, my academic and personal interests have long centered around public policy, program implementation, and how the philosophical foundations and behavioral assumptions that undergird specific innovations relate to numerous political factors: raw efficiency, policy effectiveness and outcomes, historical traditions, and contemporary stakeholders’ values.
In a substantive sense, I find the politics and economics of both education reform and cross-sector service delivery to be especially intriguing. Such topics, more than most others (in my view), capture political actors’ fundamental preferences for social, governmental, and market institutions– which in turn implies that studying their dynamics will produce legitimately meaningful results.
Moreover, the aforementioned issue areas intersect my own values for civil liberties, equality of opportunity, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars, as well as my twin loves for data analysis and writing. All such topics feature prominently in projects attached to my name on this website and elsewhere. I aspire toward data-driven social science that appreciates the utility of diverse analytical techniques, though I am mostly interested in quantitative methods.
Intrepid visitors could check out any of the linked socials to learn more about my interests and my perspective more broadly. Yes, I have views on the world like anyone else, but I promise that I’m neither unreasonable nor unwilling to change my mind.
However, I will not suffer criticisms of heavy metal or cats (sorry– we all have to draw lines somewhere).
Obligatory Disclaimer: Please note that the opinions expressed on this website and corresponding social media accounts are my own and are not intended to “speak for” other individuals, groups, or organizations.