Mera Cronbaugh

Mera Cronbaugh is a Senior Policy Associate at J-PAL North America. She works on the State and Local Innovation Initiative, assisting US state and local governments in developing rigorous evidence to inform policy and program decisions. She also writes evaluation summaries, and contributes to development of research resources, the administrative data catalog, and research projects.

Mera holds a BS with summa cum laude and research distinction from The Ohio State University, where she studied economics and Russian with a minor in consumer and family financial services. Before joining J-PAL as a Policy Associate in January 2022, Mera interned for J-PAL North America, as well as a financial planning firm based in Central Ohio. She has also worked with a Central Ohio refugee resettlement agency and served as a long-term mentor in their youth program. She has advanced proficiency in Russian.