Ellen Schenk

Ellen Schenk

Degree: 2021, MPP and 2020, B.A.

Job Title: Data Analyst, Reproductive Equity Action Lab, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ellen Schenk (MPP, ’21) is a reproductive health researcher and advocate focusing on abortion and contraception. She specializes in using quantitative methods to identify barriers and facilitators to accessing reproductive health care. Ellen currently works at the Reproductive Equity Action Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a Data Analyst, she uses medical claims, electronic health records, and survey data to evaluate maternal and infant health outcomes in addition to reproductive health care experiences.

Ellen previously worked at the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at The George Washington University as a Senior Research Associate, where she examined the dimensions of the reproductive health workforce, such as geographic distribution, abortion and contraception provision, and longitudinal trends. Her work has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, Health Affairs Scholar, and JAMA Network Open, as well as cited in The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and US News & World Report. She additionally has presented her work at conferences, including the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meetings.

During her time at the University of Delaware, Ellen was a Public Administration Fellow at the Institute for Public Administration with Troy Mix and a Research Assistant with Dr. Katie Fitzpatrick. Her portfolio of research projects, including evaluating of the economic and non-economic impacts of The Freeman Stage in Sussex County; cataloging municipal and state agency uses of geographic information systems; and using Medicaid data to assess a program that trained providers on insertion and placement of intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants, collectively contributed to Ellen’s passion for reproductive health, community-based research, and data-informed policy and evaluation. Ellen Schenk received her Master of Public Policy (MPP) in 2021 through completion of the 4+1 program from the University of Delaware Biden School of Public Policy & Administration. She also received her dual degrees, an Honors BA in Public Policy and an Honors BS in Mathematics and Economics, from the University of Delaware in 2020.