Rachel Yang Zhou is a research fellow at the PPIC Higher Education Center. Her research lies at the intersection of higher education and labor economics, with a focus on financial aid, community colleges, and the college-to-workforce transition. Before joining PPIC, she was a research data specialist at the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, a postdoctoral scholar at the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab at Stanford University, and a quantitative researcher at the Community College Research Center. She holds a PhD in economics and education from Columbia University and a master’s degree in economics from Duke University.