Rita M. Ludwig, PhD

Dr. Rita Ludwig is a social scientist who utilizes a mixed-methods approach to understanding complex psychological and sociological phenomena. Her expertise is in developing predictive models of behavior using individual-level characteristics, such as personality traits and neural activity. She is passionate about using rigorous empirical science to develop policies for reducing disparities in health, education, and income. She joins SP2 as a Data Scientist for the Philadelphia Economic Equity Project (PEEP), a research initiative aimed at illuminating the nature of poverty in Philadelphia as well as opportunities to encourage economic mobility.

Dr. Ludwig received her PhD in psychology from the University of Oregon, where her dissertation explored the ways that inequitable socioeconomic structures are psychologically reinforced. She has conducted research on neuroeconomics, goal achievement, and social neuroscience at Temple University and Harvard University. She also received a Master’s degree in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences at Columbia University.