The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College is pleased to welcome Dr. Wendy Cavendish as a Visiting Research Scholar for the 2015-2016 academic year. Dr. Cavendish will collaborate with Roosevelt House Faculty Associate Dr. Jennifer Samson on a project analyzing the legislative impacts of improving issues of inequality. Their project, Intersections of Inequality: Legislative Legacies of Poverty, Race, Language, and Disability in Educational Policy, examines the enduring effects of legislation intended to address structural inequalities. Drs. Samson and Cavendish will analyze data on implementation outcomes, as well as the intended and unintended consequences of these educational policies. Their work will culminate in policy reports, co-authored publications and a symposium that brings together researchers, practitioners and policy makers.

Wendy Cavendish is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami. She has directed several funded projects related to community transition of youth involved in juvenile justice and special education. She previously served as research faculty at the Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research at Florida State University. She earned her Ph.D. in special education with a cognate in criminology. Dr. Cavendish’s research has a strong interdisciplinary focus and is targeted to identifying the policies, institutional process, and practices in schools and other social institutions (e.g., criminal justice system) that facilitate and support successful transition of diverse youth in ways that lead to equitable outcomes.