Elyse Jennings Headshot

Elyse Jennings

Director of Research & Research Scientist
Leadership & Research Core Staff

Elyse joined us in 2016 as a research associate and was promoted to research scientist in 2019. As director of research, she leverages her training and experience as a sociologist and family demographer, as well as her substantive work on the HAALSA project (including her expertise in fieldwork training, survey development, and grant proposal writing) to help to shape and oversee the Center’s research initiatives. Her responsibilities include offering guidance to our coalesced team of researchers known as the “research core” and working closely with other members of senior leadership and the administrative team on issues related to staffing and community building. She also works closely with our data compliance coordinator on developing best practices around acquiring, managing, storing, and archiving data. Her own line of research explores marriage and health in South Africa, family formation and dissolution in South Asia, and adolescent sexual behavior in the U.S.

Elyse holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining our team at the Harvard Pop Center, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Carolina Population Center.