Max GrossResearcher, Los Angeles
Max Gross is passionate about using data to improve people’s lives, especially those from historically underserved communities. He grew up with several social workers in his family, which helped spark his interest in how public systems can best support people in need.
A researcher at the California Policy Lab focused on homelessness policy, Max has a decade of experience designing and conducting rigorous evaluations to inform more effective public policy. He is especially interested in connecting administrative data across siloed systems to provide a fuller picture of how public programs affect people’s lives.
Before joining CPL, Max worked for Mathematica, where he led projects for federal, state, and local governments, as well as philanthropic foundations. For example, he led analysis of administrative data for a federal evaluation of a program aimed at preventing homelessness among youth and young adults with foster care histories. Max also partnered with organizations to strengthen their use of data and evaluation, including developing and implementing a data analytics learning curriculum for a state child welfare agency.
Max earned a B.A. in economics and a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. His research has been published in peer-reviewed economics and social work journals including the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Child Maltreatment, Child Abuse & Neglect, and the Review of Economics and Statistics.
Outside of work, Max enjoys playing volleyball, making soup, and watching (and often complaining about) Philadelphia sports teams.
