My name is Michael Zoorob. I am a postdoctoral fellow at Northeastern University’s Boston Area Research Initiative. In 2021, I completed a PhD in Government (academic political science) at Harvard; before then, I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (I grew up in Brentwood, Tennessee). I’m also an election worker in the Town of Brookline (where I live) and involved with Brookline for Everyone, a group pushing for zoning reforms that increase housing production, affordability, and transit-oriented development (e.g. expanding multifamily zoning by right). I was elected to represent Brookline’s Precinct 3 as a Town Meeting Member in May 2021.
I study American politics with particular interests in crime and health. My dissertation research examines the politics of policing in the contexts of citizen crime reporting, elected Sheriffs, and the political response to neighborhood disorder. A separate line of research examines substance use and overdose. In both these domains, I explore how formal organizations and informal connections between people can shape behavior and public policy.
Feel free to e-mail me at mzoorob@g.harvard.edu. I use he/his pronouns.
Michael Zoorob 