Tess Thorman is a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she studies poverty, inequality, and social safety net programs. She is also a member of the PPIC Economic Policy Center. Before joining PPIC, she worked as a consultant with the Center for Migration Studies of New York, where she researched capacity for implementing a large-scale legalization program for undocumented immigrants. She holds an MPP from the University of Southern California and a BA with majors in English and musical studies from Oberlin College.