About Us



Dr. Jesse Chanin is a researcher and consultant based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Tulane University and a Master’s in Education from Fordham University. Her first book, a history of the United Teachers of New Orleans, will be released by UNC Press in Spring 2024.

Dr. Chanin conducts research that centers community voices and social justice. She has collaborated on research projects with various organizations including Ubuntu Village, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Louisiana Bureau of Family Health, and the city of New Orleans. She is also a postdoctoral fellow at the Coalition for Compassionate schools, where she is working with middle school students on participatory action research projects to improve their schools.

For each project, she assembles a diverse team of researchers and assistants whose background and expertise match the needs of the client.

Download Dr. Chanin’s CV.



Dr. Miranda Stramel holds a Ph.D. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University. Researching social, environmental, and health policy formation in Latin America and the U.S., her dissertation examined the insertion of educational messaging into mass media programing in Brazil. Dr. Stramel is an expert in qualitative interviewing and focus groups, as well as survey design and implementation.

In the last two years, as an independent consultant, she has conducted applied community research for projects with the Southern Poverty Law Center, the City of New Orleans, and the Louisiana Bureau of Family Health. In 2017, through personal networks already established in the New Orleans metro area, she conducted interviews with over fifty immigrant youth in New Orleans for a study leading to the article, "Informed Gatekeepers and Transnational Violence: Using Perceptions of Safety of Latino/a Youth in Determining Legal Cases,” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences (2018). She coordinated an external evaluation of Heifer International’s education portfolio with Western Michigan University in 2010.

As an instructor at Tulane University in Latin American Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies, Dr. Stramel designed courses that incorporated service-learning components in conjunction with Loyola Law Clinic and CCANO Immigration Services. She previously served as a Spanish speaking workers’ rights community educator in New Orleans. Dr. Stramel also works as a reviewer for Duolingo’s English language college entrance exam.

Dr. Danica Brown is an equity-driven researcher with 15+ years of experience as a researcher and educator. She has extensive experience designing, managing, and implementing mixed-methods projects and is currently collaborating on an evaluation project with Dr. Chanin and Dr. Stramel for the city of New Orleans. Dr. Brown is also a postdoctoral research fellow for the Detroit Partnership for Education Equity and Research (Detroit PEER) at Wayne State University. She has presented her research nationally at conferences such as the American Educational Research Association, Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the Association for Education Finance and Policy. Her work is culturally responsive and reflects a commitment to community. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Tulane University’s interdisciplinary City, Culture, and Community program.

Download Dr. Brown’s CV.