About

I am a professor of public policy and education and faculty director of research and engagement at the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. My research focuses on policies and strategies to improve postsecondary educational and workforce outcomes for individuals from lower-income communities. I conduct this research through collaborative research-policy partnerships with public agencies and organizations at the local, state, and federal levels. My current work focuses on innovations to increase economic mobility among lower-wage adults and on the economic and life outcomes generated by intensive college advising programs.

My research has appeared in top journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Labor Economics, the Journal of Public Economics, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I am a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. My work has been generously supported by numerous philanthropic foundations and has received extensive media coverage, including in The New York Times, National Public Radio, and The Washington Post.

Before returning to graduate school, I was a public school teacher and administrator in Providence, RI.

email: castleman@virginia.edu