Christopher R. Marsicano ‘10
Founder & Director
Christopher R. Marsicano is an Assistant Professor of Educational Studies and Public Policy in the Educational Studies Department and the founding director of the College Crisis Initiative (C2i) at Davidson College, his undergraduate alma mater. His research examines public policy and postsecondary education with a special focus on how higher education institutions behave as political actors to impact the policymaking process. He is also interested in how state-and-local-level political decisions impact higher education institutions. As director of C2i, his expanded research portfolio includes working on the public health issues surrounding higher education innovation in the COVID-19 crisis. His research has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals like Educational Researcher and Research in Higher Education, and peer-reviewed government and policy publications like the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work also has been featured in many national and international media outlets including InsideHigherEd, The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He earned his PhD from Vanderbilt University, and holds a master of public policy degree from Duke University.
Alexandria Marsicovetere ’21
Assistant Director
Alexandria worked with the C2i since its inception as Director of the Research Affiliate Program. Before her return to Davidson, Alex served as a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow in the City of Knoxville’s Office of Sustainability. She supported city-wide projects in environmental sustainability, public transportation, community engagement, and data governance. Her work led to acknowledgements in municipal publications including Knoxville Area Transit’s Decarbonization Plan and the City of Knoxville’s Vision Zero Action Plan. She has also interviewed with media outlets such as Higher Ed Dive, WFAE 90.7, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Alex earned a Master’s in Education Policy and Analysis from Harvard University and a Bachelor’s in Hispanic and Educational Studies from Davidson College.
Luis S. Toledo ’20
Assistant Director
Luis was part of the founding research team and co-author of C2i’s first research paper, “Tracking Campus Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic”. He started his career in higher education as an Admission Counselor at Colby College and later as an Assistant Director of Admission at Davidson College. At Colby, he led the college’s partnership with the community-based organization QuestBridge. Luis’s work in Davidson’s Office of Admission and Financial Aid included leading the creative direction of student digital content, managing partnerships with lead generation vendors, and organizing the college’s fall open house. He has been interviewed for media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and Higher Ed Dive. Luis earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Education Policy with a focus on human development from Davidson College. Luis’s research areas in his undergraduate studies included mitigating gun violence in K-12 schools, literacy development in bilingual students, and examining predictors of depression in college students.
Team Leaders
Sarah Butchko ’25
Alexa Frain ’26
Dmytro Kurdydyk ’26
Thomas Lane ’26
Steve Mirabello ’25
Hugh Perry ’25
Natalie Russell ’25
Nina Worley ’26
Data Collectors
Yusuf Adan ’26
Akshan Agarwal ’26
Lucy Anderson ’26
Kaitlyn Busch ’25
Halle Carns ’28
Anna Carroll ’25
Sofia Cimballa ’26
Azmie Cruz ’27
Amaya Daniel ’25
Kayleigh Davies ’25
Colin Decker ’27
Aidan Diggs ’26
Allison Dixon ’28
Riana Doctor ’26
AnnaLee Drumm ’27
Ben Hale ’26
Leigha Hofman ’25
Abby Hulka ’25
Charlotte Juge ’27
Aileen Kavishe ’27
Valeriia Kruzhkova ’26
Abby Landes ’27
Elizabeth Levengood ’25
Eleiezer Majambere ’27
Branton Mogeni ’28
Matias Mourao Pacheco ’28
Meghana Nakkanti ’27
Binh Nguyen ’26
Khai Nguyen ’26
Alp Niksarli ’27
Murtaza Nikzad ’27
Victoria Ochieng ’27
Chidindu Aheagbulam ’28
Tommy Pham ’28
Abby Reardon ’25
Kara Rumage ’25
Christian Rutherford ’26
Petrah Sakwa ’26
Victoria Stutto ’25
Abuzar Suhaib ’27
Hien Tran ’25
Abby Wiener ’28
Henry Wilcox ’26
Benjamin Wolf ’26
Alice Ying ’26
