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CSED Student Research Fellows

Josephine Borich is a senior majoring in International Relations and minoring in English. She is a Gordon B. Hinckley Presidential Scholar, Harry S. Truman Scholarship Finalist, and president of BYU's International Relations Honor Society. She has enjoyed participating in BYU's Model United Nations team, helping the team win a national conference title. Besides working as a undergraduate research fellow, she has also served as a teaching assistant for PLSC 328 and an English teacher for a high school in Taiwan. Josephine recently presented her research about the rate of legislative responses with respect to women and Hispanics in the 2011 Midwest Political Science Conference.
Matthew Frei ; is a senior Political Science student at Brigham Young University with minors in Business Management and Computer Science. He recently received an award for the research he presented at the 2011 Midwestern Political Science Association conference and the BYU Fulton Conference. That research asked whether delegates to the Utah state Republican nominating convention well represent other Utah Republicans. His current research uses ecological inference to analyze the partisan voting history of Utah Mormons. As CSED's administrative assistant, Matt manages the day-to-day operations of the Center. He is also the president of the student chapter of the BYU Political Affairs Society. A book chapter Matt recently co-authored with Professors Kelly Patterson, J. Quin Monson, and Leah Murray will be published in September.
Jessica Biggs Jessica Biggs is a senior at Brigham Young University majoring in Political Science and minoring in Editing. While at BYU, she has worked as a research assistant and a teaching assistant. Jessica has also participated as an editor for the Sigma Journal as a member of Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society. This year, she will be an Events Officer for the Student Chapter of the BYU Political Affairs Society. Jessica will also be working with the Peery Foundation and Innosight through the Students for Social Entrepreneurship program at BYU. Her current research interests include public opinion, gender politics, immigration, and framing effects. After graduation, Jessica plans on working towards a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in nonprofit management. She has been married to Matthew Biggs since December 2010.
Erin Wells
 Erin Lee Wells is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration in the Marriott School of Management. In April 2011 she graduated with a Bachelors in political science and a minor in English and business management. She is a member of several honors associations including: Pi Sigma Alpha, Golden Key, Phi Eta Sigma and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Erin has thrown javelin on the BYU track and field team for the past four years, lettered the 2007-2008, 2010-2011 seasons, and has been a Mountain West Scholar Athlete from 2007-2011. Erin’s research interests include local American politics, political psychology, public participation, opinion and voting. Much of her research includes the study of populist attitudes. Erin has been married to her best friend, Shelten Wells, since June 2009.
John Holbein is a senior at Brigham Young University majoring in Political Science.  He recently completed an internship at the International Student Management Office at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.  His research interests include education, foreign and immigration policy and voter opinion.  In the past, John has been a Teaching Assistant for Political Science 328: Quantitative Political Methodology.  He hopes to pursue a joint JD/MPP degree in the future.  He has been happily married to Brittney Wilkin Holbein since August 2009.
Robbie Richards is a junior majoring in political science, with a minor in psychology. He was awarded the Gordon B. Hinckley Presidential Scholarship and a National Merit Scholarship in 2007. Since returning from an LDS mission in upstate New York in May 2010, he has worked as a research assistant in the Political Science department for various professors. His research interests include American elections and public opinion and American domestic policy.
Jordan Rogers is a senior majoring in Economics and Political Science. In addition to working as an undergraduate research fellow, Jordan is also currently serving as head of public relations for the Student Chapter of the BYU Political Affairs Society. While studying at BYU, he has also worked as a teaching assistant for PLSC 110, helped administrate the Utah Colleges Exit Poll, and volunteered as BYU chair for Senator Bob Bennett’s reelection campaign. His current research interests include voter opinion and voting behavior. Jordan will be interning for TargetPoint Consulting in Washington DC beginning May 2012. Eventually, Jordan would like to pursue a Masters of Public Policy where he hopes to one day become a political consultant.