Family Demography; Historical Demography; Social Science Data and Infrastructure
I have worked for the MPC since its inception in 2000, and prior to that I worked as a graduate research assistant on the Historical Census Projects in the History Department. I am now the Associate Director of the Institute for Social Reserach and Data Innovation (ISRDI) and Executive Director of the Minnesota Research Data Center (MnRDC). A Census Bureau Research Data Center (RDC), the MnRDC provides access to restricted and confidential data. Throughout my career, I have been closely involved in the creation of several databases, including IPUMS USA, IPUMS International, and IPUMS Terra.
My own research focuses on historical demography and marriage formation in the United States from the nineteenth century to the present. Recently I have also extended my research into understanding the implications of recent trends in family formation for children's well-being.