Dr. Ashley Orr is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Her research and teaching apply economic models to social and economic problems, considering how public policy might intervene to address market failures, reduce poverty and inequality, and support workers, families, children and communities in Ohio and across the country.

Ashley received her Doctorate in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College of Information Systems and Public Policy where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellow. She earned a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She is a first-generation college graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Youngstown State University.

Her current research investigates structural barriers, labor market frictions and inequities that contribute to the geographic inequality of opportunities. She leverages econometrics, statistical analysis, randomized interventions and experiments in her research and enjoys collaborating with community organizations and interdisciplinary and community-based teams.