Ryan L.

Background

About Ryan L.

I am currently a Policy Specialist in Trust and Safety at Google. In this job, I analyze policy and legal challenges facing technology platforms and make recommendations on how Google should address them. I engage and communicate with users, governments, and other internal and external stakeholders on policy issues involving Latin America and Brazil. I am a creative, analytical, and resourceful researcher with a curious mind and methodological versatility. I specialize in mixed-methods analysis (quantitative, qualitative, and experimental) in social science research projects, combining an analytically rigorous focus on causal inference with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to many different audiences. I am widely experienced in both primary and secondary research, as well as in taking projects from conception to completion. I have mastered a variety of methodological tools, including the statistical analysis of large datasets, semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and experimental (A/B test) design. I also have experience in diverse methods of written communication and oral communication, including data visualization and presentations to both academic and non-academic communities. I am proficient in STATA, SQL, LaTeX, Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), currently learning Python, and fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. I was formerly a research coordinator at the University of Texas-Austin for Decode Zika, an NIH-funded project in Brazil, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of International Studies at Centre College. Before arriving at Centre, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, where I lived between 2014 and 2019 during and after my doctoral fieldwork. I received my PhD in Government from the University of Texas-Austin in 2016. My academic research focuses primarily on campaigns, comparative political behavior, and vote buying, with secondary interests in Brazilian politics and migration.