Anakaren is an MSc candidate in Comparative Social Policy. Broadly, Anakaren is interested in the intersection of urban and social policy, sustainable development, urban poverty, inequality, social mobility, and the role of subnational governments in addressing broad-based social challenges. She is also interested in exploring how big data can be leveraged to inform public policy. Her thesis will explore the relationship between urban sprawl and upward social mobility in the United States, particularly seeking to identify what dimensions of urban sprawl have the greatest impact on upward social mobility outcomes and what demographic groups are most impacted, positively or negatively, by urban sprawl.
The first in her family to pursue higher education, Anakaren graduated from Stanford University in 2017 as a QuestBridge scholar with bachelor’s degrees in History and Public Policy, and in 2018 with an MA in Latin American Studies supported by the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. Prior to Oxford, she worked for several years in state and local government at a boutique public affairs firm in her home state of California, completed a data science fellowship as a Distinguished Fellow, was involved in several state and local electoral campaigns, and has experience in higher education admissions.
Alongside her studies, Anakaren is a Co-Captain of Linacre Ladies that Lift (Women’s Section of the Linacre Weightlifting Society) as well as an active member of the Linacre Garden Society and the Oxford University Cycling Club.
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