Robert Santillano

Robert Santillano is an independent researcher focusing on partnerships that improve public well-being—particularly for those experiencing economic insecurity. His interest in this work comes from lived experience with many of the social service programs he studies. He has published research covering child welfare, early childhood education, K–12 education, homelessness, family support, immigration, the safety net, and workforce training topic areas. Prior to starting his firm, he was an economist at Mathematica and also served as research director at the California Policy Lab at UCLA. He received his PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in math from Pomona College.