As Senior Researcher, David Radwin helps develop the research agenda for California Competes and leads research projects that shape and inform the organization’s policy priorities.
Prior to joining California Competes, David was a senior research associate in the Education and Workforce Development Division at RTI International and MPR Associates (acquired by RTI International). While there, he studied workforce and employment outcomes for graduates with postsecondary credentials ranging from certificates to doctoral degrees. David led methodological reporting for the 2008/18 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, which follows a nationally representative sample of individuals 10 years after graduating college. No Longer Overlooked: New Federal Data Reveal Outcomes For Non-Traditional College Students (2018), which David coauthored, looks at outcomes for part-time and returning adult students. He also coauthored Measuring Workforce Preparation and Employment Outcomes (2014), which reviews how community colleges can better measure students’ experience in the workforce after completion. In addition to research focused on the impact of postsecondary experiences on workforce outcomes, David worked on a variety of other projects with a quantitative focus in the areas of transfer, financial aid, and student data. Earlier in his career, David worked in the Office of Student Research and Campus Surveys, the Survey Research Center, and the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and he served on the board of directors of the California Association for Institutional Research.
He earned a master’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
What motivates you to advance California Competes’s mission?
Education has the power to transform individuals, families, and whole societies. California has historically been a leader in higher education, so what happens in our state has an impact across the nation and even beyond. I come from a family of educators, including my mother, both of my father’s parents, and dozens of aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws, so for me education is a personal as well as a professional priority. As a lifelong Californian, I am committed to improving higher education as an essential ingredient to making our state a better place to live, learn, work, and thrive.
