Christopher Yera

Christopher Yera (CC ‘23) is a first-year MPA candidate at Columbia SIPA, concentrating in Data Science for Policy and Urban and Social Policy. A proud Cuban American from Miami, FL, Chris earned an Associate of Arts in International Relations from The Honors College at Miami Dade College prior to receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia. His work and academic interests lie at the intersection of social and tax policy, with a particular focus on how policy affects poverty, income inequality, and food insecurity. 

Chris is currently a Research Analyst at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. At the Center, he studies the antipoverty effects of social programs and tax credits like the Child Tax Credit and conducts microsimulation analyses of policy reforms across the local, state, and national levels. He also works on the Center’s Poverty Tracker study, analyzing the survey data to uncover New Yorkers’ experiences of poverty, material hardship, and well-being. Chris’ work has been published in academic journals such as International Tax and Public Finance, and has been featured in The New York Times, Politico, The 19th, Gothamist, Telemundo 47 Nueva York, and Univision 41 Nueva York.