Our People

Christopher Berry

Christopher Berry

Director, Mansueto Institute

Christopher R. Berry is the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the College. In addition to directing the Mansueto Institute, he is the Director of the Center for Municipal Finance. Professor Berry’s research interests include American politics, metropolitan governance, municipal finance, and intergovernmental fiscal relations. He is the author of Imperfect Union: Representation and Taxation in Multilevel Governments, winner of the Best Book Award in Urban Politics from the American Political Science Association, Theory and Credibility (with Scott Ashworth and Ethan Bueno de Mesquita), and many other scholarly publications. Professor Berry’s research has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Chicago Tribune, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and many other outlets. Professor Berry is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Stephen Baker

Stephen Baker

Urban Doctoral Fellows Coordinator

Stephen is Senior Research & Evaluation Scientist at Outlier Research and Evaluation at UChicago STEM. His work concentrates on community-based and systemic service responses for youth, education, and community development. Dr. Baker was project director of a multi-year implementation and outcome evaluation of the Community Partnership for Protecting Children Initiative. He also served as project director for the multi-year evaluation of the Children, Youth, and Families Initiative, a project for integrating developmental and specialized services in Chicago neighborhoods. His most recent work has focused on school-centered youth- and community-development and systemic quality improvement systems for afterschool programs. He has served as an instructor for undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Chicago, including courses on the history of social welfare, data for management and analysis, and research and evaluation. He earned his B.A. from Cornell University, and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the School of Social Services Administration at the University of Chicago.

Aimee Giles

Aimee Giles

Event Specialist, Mansueto Institute

Aimee Giles is the Event Specialist for the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation.  Prior to joining the Institute, Aimee was the Event and Travel Consultant for the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago for well over a decade.  There she oversaw the Institute’s Events and Visitors Program.  Aimee also has an extensive background in corporate event planning.  She volunteers with several nationally recognized organizations such as NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness), Purpose Over Pain and Strides for Peace.  Aimee is the recipient of the Vessel of Strength Award for her dedication to assisting underserved communities.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University.

Heidi Lee

Heidi Lee

Project Assistant, Mansueto Institute

Heidi is an administrative professional with experience providing operational and project management support in a range of industries. Prior to her experience at the University of Chicago, Heidi served as the Operations Assistant at Krueck and Sexton Architects. She also worked for several years as a Gallery Office Assistant at the School of the Art Institute where she attended from 2011-2015. Heidi holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University. Off campus, she is dedicated to producing ceramics at Lillstreet Art Center.

Nicholas Marchio

Nicholas Marchio

Research Data Scientist, Mansueto Institute

Nico is a Research Data Scientist with the Mansueto Institute. He holds a multi-disciplinary background in data science and urban research with a strong interest in harnessing advances in data and machine learning, which he is now applying to gain deeper insights into the science behind cities. In the past, he worked at Civis Analytics as a Senior Data Scientist where he combined predictive modeling and survey research to provide actionable guidance to organizations in the technology, local government, and political spaces. Before moving to Chicago, he spent six years at the Brookings Institution as an Associate Fellow, publishing numerous reports on global trade and urban development patterns and engineering new data resources to fill gaps in public data. Nico holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Studies from Macalester College and a Master of Science in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota.
Elaine Meyer

Elaine Meyer

Content Specialist, Mansueto Institute

Elaine Meyer is a Content Specialist at the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation where she communicates about the institute’s research, events, education, and other programming. Previously, she worked as a communication specialist focusing on public health at Columbia University School of Public Health and NYU Langone Health. She’s also worked as a journalist, reporting on work, technology, law and education; as an English teacher in France; and as a paralegal at the Federal Trade Commission. Elaine holds a Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Northwestern University and grew up in the Chicago area.

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Associate Director for Programs and Education, Mansueto Institute

As associate director for programs and education, Brian manages operations of the Mansueto Institute’s programs, including events, fellowships, and support services, and helps develop strategic programs and partnerships within and outside of the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the institute, Brian held roles both in industry and at the University of Chicago, managing social sector programming and lifelong learning for alumni in the Office of Alumni Relations and Development. Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Anthropological Archaeology from the University of Chicago. His research focused on South Asian colonial urbanism, specifically the processes of abandonment and ruination associated with declining urban environments and the way these spaces come to be reimagined and repurposed by different social groups. He recently authored the book The City of Facades: Archaeology, History, and Urbanism in Velha Goa, published by Primus Books.