Chris Cassella

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT CHRIS CASSELLA

I am a recent PhD graduate from the Government department at the University of Texas, Austin. My degree is in American Politics and Public Policy, and my dissertation focuses on the intersection of gun violence and state policy response. I have taught both introductory and advanced level government classes at UT, and served as a research mentor for my students. I have also published research papers on a congressional budgeting and police behavior, and have extended research interests in health policy and economic inequality. I also work as a Policy Associate at Texas Appleseed with the Criminal Justice Project. My team focuses on data-driven research to solve the most pressing issues facing system-impacted individuals in the state of Texas. In my role, I publish reports, offer expert testimony, and meet with legislative staff to offer recommendations on key legislation. Before my time in graduate school, I worked with two gun violence prevention non-profits. I was a research intern at Connecticut Against Gun Violence, as well as a press intern at the Brady Campaign. I spent time working in marketing as a copy editor between my undergraduate summers, and eventually worked in the editorial department of the University of Richmond Magazine from 2019 to 2020.Outside of political science I\'m a frequent contributor to Ultiworld, the largest media outlet for ultimate frisbee. And when I\'m not writing about ultimate, I\'m playing it with the professional UFA (Ultimate Frisbee Association) team the Austin SOL.