Staff
Katherine B. Aoki
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Kate joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2015. Currently, Kate manages Tobin's operations, contributes to the organization's strategic development, and works with the research team to advance Tobin's research initiatives. Kate graduated magna cum laude with highest honors in History and a minor in Economics from Harvard University. In her senior thesis, she explored the relationship between work and gender by examining men’s work in American department stores in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Email: kaoki[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Alexander H. Berlin
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Alex joined the Tobin Project in the spring of 2015. Previously, Alex served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, where he prosecuted economic crime and won the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. Prior to joining the Justice Department, Alex served as a law clerk to the Honorable Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Alex is a 2008 graduate of Yale Law School, where he was an Equal Justice America Fellow, and a 2005 magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College.
Email: aberlin[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2611
John Cisternino
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
John joined the Tobin Project in 2008 to cultivate rigorous, problem-oriented research aimed at understanding and addressing some of the most urgent challenges facing American society. He directs the Tobin Project’s research activities throughout our four core initiatives and works with scholars across disciplines to develop new lines of inquiry. He also oversees our graduate student programs and corresponds with policymakers and thought leaders outside of academia to build new avenues for innovative scholarship that contributes to public discourse, policymaking, and civic education. John is the co-editor of New Perspectives on Regulation (The Tobin Project, 2009) with David Moss. He holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Tufts University; a J.D. from Harvard Law School; and an M.A. and M. Phil in philosophy from Columbia University where he taught courses in formal logic, philosophy, and literature.
Email: jcisternino[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 301-8923
David Cruikshank
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
David joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2017. Currently, he assists with Tobin's operations and contributes to its Economic Inequality Initiative. David graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in psychology, focusing his studies on social psychology. His senior thesis examined links between women in STEM and in philosophy, and specifically explored whether women experience stereotype threat in philosophy.
Email: dcruikshank[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Jess Davis
SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST
Jess joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2016 and currently works on the Institutions of Democracy initiative. Jess graduated magna cum laude from Claremont McKenna College with degrees in Philosophy, Politics, & Economics (PPE) and Government, focusing her studies on American constitutionalism and constitutional law. Her senior thesis, which explored the implications of rising income inequality for James Madison’s constitutional design, won Claremont McKenna’s award for the best senior thesis in Government.
Email: jdavis[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Sam Dunham
SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST
Sam joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2015. He supports a range of Tobin’s initiatives with a special focus on democracy and national security. Sam was a Fellow at the Project on International Peace and Security and a Monroe Scholar at the College of William & Mary, where he graduated with a B.A., summa cum laude, in Government and Economics. His thesis on public tolerance and media framing of political protest won William & Mary’s W. Warner Moss Prize for best thesis in Government.
Email: sdunham[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 301-8922
Liam Horsman
COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
Liam joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2017. He contributes to a variety of development and outreach efforts, including the creation of Tobin’s annual Update and quarterly Scholar Newsletter. He also manages the website and assists in Tobin’s work on case-based pedagogy. Liam graduated magna cum laude with high honors from Kenyon College, where he majored in English.
Email: lhorsman[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Grace Judge
SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST
Grace joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2016 as a part of the Institutions of Democracy initiative. Previously, she worked for the Mayor's Office in Detroit and wrote her senior thesis on the political construction of the city's 2013 bankruptcy case. Grace graduated with a B.A., summa cum laude, in Politics, Philosophy, & Economics (PPE) from the University of Michigan.
Email: gjudge[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Emma Kromm
RESEARCH ANALYST
Emma joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2018 as a part of the Economic Inequality and Institutions of Democracy initiatives. Emma graduated with a B.A., cum laude, from Harvard College with high honors in Social Studies. Her senior thesis explored the effects of meritocratic sorting on the economic attitudes of elite college students. Previously, Emma worked as a Reporter at the Institute for Southern Studies and as a Director’s Intern in the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.
Email: ekromm[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Joel Michaels
RESEARCH ANALYST
Joel joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2018 and currently works on the Economic Inequality and Government & Markets initiatives. Joel graduated with a B.A. with high honors from the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University. His senior thesis compared welfare state retrenchment across different post-industrial economies. Previously, Joel worked on labor policy issues for the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Email: jmichaels[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600
Zoe Rubin
RESEARCH ANALYST
Zoe joined the Tobin Project in the summer of 2017 and works on the Institutions of Democracy and National Security initiatives. She graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale College, where her senior essay on the modern human rights movement received the History Department’s Andrew D. White Prize. Previously, she researched policy challenges at the intersection of business and human rights as a Gordon Grand Fellow.
Email: zrubin[at]tobinproject.org
Phone: (617) 547-2600