GETTING TO KNOW MARIELLEN

Mariellen joined Creative as technical advisor to the Center for Migration and Economic Stabilization in 2021. Working under the auspice of Creative’s Office of Innovation, the Center drives expertise in the intersections of migration and economic growth, asset building and social inclusion. 

Mariellen is an established practitioner and expert on migration, immigration and mixed-methods evaluation. Prior to joining Creative, Mariellen co-founded the Open Avenues Foundation, which builds pathways for global talent to contribute to the U.S. innovation economy. Mariellen also served as executive director of Women Encouraging Empowerment, where she advanced strategic programming to promote immigrant women’s self-advocacy in education and health. As a Research Scientist at George Washington University, she led the implementation of a multi-year mixed-methods evaluation. 

Her work has been published by the Migration Policy Institute, Inter-American Dialogue, International Fund for Agricultural Development, USAID and several peer-reviewed academic journals. Her latest peer-reviewed publication with Dr. Leighton Ku based on her doctoral dissertation, “How Citizenship Status Affects Health Outcomes for Children in Mixed Status Families: A Within-Family Analysis,” was selected as an Editor’s 2021 Top 10 in Health Affairs, a premier journal in the field. 

Her most recent work for Creative includes a Lightening Talk “Virtuous Migration,” which received an honorable mention at the 2022 Society for International Development Washington Chapter’s annual conference as well as a study on the economic drivers of irregular migration from El Salvador. 

Mariellen has a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from George Washington University and a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

Mariellen has extensive field experience spanning the Western Hemisphere and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mariellen served in AmeriCorps VISTA and Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. She is a native English speaker and fluent in Spanish.