new voters research is brat
This summer, we worked with 60 young scholars, were featured in Teen Vogue, and hosted our first-ever conference with 70 attendees, all to promote high school civic engagement and innovation.
This summer was all about turning ideas into action through research and collaboration. We trained 60 young scholars in a virtual research competition, had our research highlighted in Teen Vogue, and hosted our first-ever research conference with over 70 academic, student, supporter and practitioner attendees. From expert insights to student-driven innovation, it’s been a season packed with growth and impact. Check out how we made every moment count this summer!
We are also thrilled to announce that Sydney Fahn, a sophomore at Georgetown University and co-founder of the New Voters Research Network, has stepped into the role of Co-Director of NVRN! With two remarkable years as Deputy Director and two years before that coordinating voter registration drives with New Voters, Sydney has been instrumental in advancing our research and programming. Her leadership and dedication are invaluable, and we are excited to see her continue to elevate the impact of the Research Network in this new role.
New Voters Research Conference
On August 5th, NVRN hosted our first ever research conference! Our amazing research assistants presented our projects in front of a virtual audience of over 70 people, including leaders of civic nonprofits, professors, participants in our New Researchers program, and other members of the civics community. You can check out the full agenda here:
Seven research projects were presented by the NVRN research team, three high school New Researchers students, collaborators at CIRCLE at Tufts University, and the Institute for Youth in Politics. Topics ranged from a systematic review of high school voting literature to a recent RCT conducted in Pennsylvania, which tested messaging encouraging high school principals to run voter registration.
Teen Vogue
Check out research out of the New Voters Research Network (RA: Olivia Zhang) featured in a Teen Vogue op-ed:
“According to the New Voters Research Network’s analysis of the Pennsylvania Voter File, 74% of those aged 65 and up voted in the 2020 presidential election, while only 44% of 18 year olds showed up at the polls. These numbers represent Gen Z’s potential to transform the country, from local schools boards to nationwide elections.”
New Researchers Recap
The New Researchers Summer Program wrapped up its 8-week virtual summer program in August, bringing together over 60 high school students from 9th to 12th grades, representing 10 states, including California, New York, and Texas. This diverse group of participants engaged in a range of activities designed to foster research skills and civic understanding.
Key guest speakers included:
Professor Mike Hanmer: Director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, who has been a professor since 2007.
Georgina Stephens Rivers: A PhD candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializing in Culture, Institutions, and Society.
Professor Christina Ciocca Eller: Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Studies at Harvard University.
Students benefited from Innovation Office Hours, where PhD students and professors provided one-on-one feedback on their research proposals, offering personalized advice and insights tailored to each participant’s project. This interactive format gave students a unique opportunity to refine their research skills and build valuable academic connections. Students culminated the program in a research competition, where they presented their original research proposals to a panel of judges comprised of a professor (Mike Hanmer), nonprofit leader (Nivea Krishnan) and student researcher (Jaden Wu).
This newsletter was written by New Voters Research Network summer intern Jawahir Mohamed (Harvard ‘25) and May intern Sid Karthik (UMD ’28).