Ayan Goran is a Research Analyst at MEF Associates. She is passionate about transforming public benefits to be more accessible to families and individuals in marginalized communities, particularly through the lenses of racial equity and migrant rights. She has experience in working on projects related to postsecondary education, caregiving, health care, and human service delivery. At MEF, Ayan’s focuses include the TANF program, family strengthening, and fatherhood supports.
Prior to joining MEF, Ayan was a Policy Analyst at the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, where she conducted qualitative and quantitative research on projects focused on redressing the structural racism that impacts public benefits. Additionally, Ayan served as a Research Fellow on the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality’s American Voices Project, conducting interviews with people in households across the northeastern United States about making ends meet.
Ayan graduated with Distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she received an MSc in International Social and Public Policy and specialized in migration policy. She also graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University with a B.A. in both Political Science and Communication, a minor in Arabic & Islamic Studies, and a concentration in Peace & Justice Studies.
She loves thrifting, word games, and going to the movies.