Uniting
Research and Policy

Evan Trowbridge, MPP'21, is technical lead at the International Centre for Tax and Development in Sierra Leone.  Previously he was a data manager at the Institute for Governance Reform in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

While at Harris Public Policy, Trowbridge worked as a research assistant on a project focused on farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria, led by Pearson Associate Soeren Henn, Philip K. Pearson Professor Oeindrila Dube, and Pearson Institute Director James Robinson. Following his first year of studies at Harris, Trowbridge became an Applied Data Fellow with the International Innovation Corps (IIC) and completed a twelve month fellowship with the Research Team at the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Prior to his time at the University of Chicago, Trowbridge spent four years in Central America working on the prevention of crime, violence, and corruption, most recently with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a development outreach and communications specialist and previously as director of communications for the nonprofit Association for a More Just Society, where he drafted policy documents for US policymakers and observers reflecting the positions of the organization’s Honduran leaders. During this time, policy issues became particularly personal to Trowbridge, who chose to live in a gang-controlled territory for two years to try to understand the nuances of Central American gang violence, illicit markets, and ineffective law enforcement. Through a local church, he helped organize programs for local youth and families to seek peace in the community. Trowbridge also previously worked as a communications associate at Sojourners, a publication covering global injustices and at the nonprofit Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

Trowbridge holds an undergraduate degree in journalism, international studies, and Spanish from Pennsylvania State University, and studied abroad in Venezuela.