Contact Current Students

Minnie Cui

Credentials: Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: minnie.cui@wisc.edu

Hey there! I’m a first-year student in the joint program in Economics and Finance. I’m from Toronto, Canada. After studying Economics at the University of Toronto, I worked at the Bank of Canada, the Canadian central bank, as an RA and Analyst for almost 4 years. My research interests are in financial IO. I’m happy to talk about the first-year courses, the joint program, being an international student, surviving freezing winters, and anything else on your mind!

Duong Dang

Email: dqdang@wisc.edu

Hello there! I’m currently a fourth-year student in the field of Macroeconomics. I’m from Vietnam, and did my undergrad at the Australian National University before coming to UW. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have about the PhD program, being a TA/RA, or any general questions you may have about living here in Madison.

Sharada Dharmasankar

Credentials: Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: dharmasankar@wisc.edu

I’m a fifth-year student from the great city of Aurora, Illinois. After finishing my undergraduate studies in economics and in English at the University of Chicago, I spent a few years in consulting before working as an RA at the Chicago Fed. My research interests are in labor and education. Feel free to reach out to me about being a TA/RA, living in Madison, and about the coursework and program in general!

photo of Caitlin Dutta-econ PhD student

Caitlin Dutta

Email: csdutta@wisc.edu

Hi, I’m a second-year student from Charlottesville, Virginia. After studying Econ and English at the University of Virginia I worked for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in DC as an RA for two years. I’m interested in applied micro, especially questions in public and industrial organization. My current research focuses on tax policy. I’m happy to talk about UW, the first and second-year program, TA work, and your grad school journey.

Marlena Eley

Credentials: Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: mseley@wisc.edu

Hey there! I’m currently a second-year student interested in labor and macro. While originally from Fullerton, CA, I’ve lived in New York and DC where I earned my BA in econ from Barnard (’16), my MS in econ from Georgetown (’20) and worked in consulting before landing here at UW. I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the first-year coursework, TAing while in the first-year (and beyond), the department in general, living in Madison or really anything at all!

Karla Hernández Romero

Credentials: Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: khernandez23@wisc.edu

I am a fourth-year student from Costa Rica. I completed my undergrad at the University of Costa Rica and I have a master’s in Economics of Public Policy from Barcelona School of Economics. Before starting the PhD, I was a research fellow at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC. My field is public economics, and my research interests also include labor, gender and development. Feel free to ask me any questions about Wisconsin winter, being a TA/RA, or anything else!

Jakob Juergens

Credentials: Pronouns: he/him

Email: jrjuergens@wisc.edu

I am a first-year student from Germany. Before coming to Madison, I obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from Bonn University. There, I also worked as a research assistant/programmer at a statistics institute. My research interests lie in Econometrics and at the intersection of Economics with Computer Science and Statistics. If you want to know more about my experience studying in Madison or how I got here, feel free to email me or look at my website jakobjuergens.com.

Greg Kirwin

Credentials: Pronouns: he/him/his

Email: gjkirwin@wisc.edu

I’m a fourth-year student from Philadelphia. Prior to UW, I was an economics/math major at William & Mary. I then worked on antitrust at the Federal Trade Commission, and afterwards earned a masters in applied mathematics from Northwestern. My main interests are in industrial organization and applied econometrics. Feel free to ask me about teaching in your first year, finding housing, or anything else.

Giselle Labrador Badía

Email: labradorbada@wisc.edu

Hi, I am a third-year doctoral student from Cuba. I majored in computer science and math at the University of Havana. Prior to UW-Madison, I was living in Mexico City, earning my master’s degree in economics at CIDE. I’m primarily interested in applied micro, especially IO. I would be glad to answer any questions you have.

April Meehl

Credentials: Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: aimeehl@wisc.edu

Hi! I am a fifth-year student in the joint economics and finance program. I grew up in Erie, PA and studied statistics at the University of Pennsylvania. I then worked for two years as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. My research interests include banking, macro, and corporate finance. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the econ program, the joint program, or living in Madison!

Michael Nattinger

Credentials: Pronouns: he/him/his

Email: nattinger@wisc.edu

Hello! I am a third-year student in the joint program in economics and finance. I am a local, having been born and raised in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I went to Grinnell College for my undergrad, and then worked as an RA for the FRBNY for two years before coming to UW for the joint program. My research interests are in macroeconomics and macrofinance with an emphasis on firm dynamics and income dynamics. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the joint program, surviving the Wisconsin winter, or anything else!

Mengqi Wang

Email: mwang452@wisc.edu

I am a fifth-year student from China. I finished my undergrad at Renmin University of China, and my master’s at Peking University before coming to Madison. I am currently interested in international economics and macroeconomics. I would be glad to make new friends and share my experiences here, so if you have any question, feel free to drop me an email at mwang452@wisc.edu.

Rachel Widra

Email: rwidra@wisc.edu

Hi, I’m a first-year student originally from a suburb of Madison. I got a BA in Economics and English from UW-Madison and then spent a few years as an RA at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland before returning to UW. I am interested in labor and public, and I have a background in education policy research. Feel free to ask me about living in Madison, the campus community, transitioning from work to being a student again, or generally about the program!