Policy and Research Team

Dr. Jonathan Cox

Vice President, Center for Policy Analysis and Research

Dr. Jonathan Cox is the Vice President, Center Policy Analysis & Research (CPAR) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Inc (CBCF). The Vice President will develop world-class public policy and research strategies for the CBCF and the work it undertakes to eliminate disparities in the global Black community. He understands that the African American community is not monolithic and as such, public policy analyses and research should address the diverse interests of this community.

Dr. Jonathan Cox is a public scholar and educator, with 20 years of instructional and administrative experience across public and private K-12 and postsecondary institutions. As a culturally-response leader and mentor, Jonathan works to provide inclusive environments and promotes the development of the whole self as a tool for uplift and liberation.

Prior to joining CBCF, Jonathan was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Central Florida. His research focuses on racial and social inequalities, primarily studying the impacts of racism in the United States. He has published in numerous academic journals on topics related to racial and ethnic identities, racial ideologies, the experiences of college students, diversity and inclusion processes in corporate America, and discrimination and racial disparities in health for Black Americans. Prior to his work as a faculty member, Jonathan worked as the Assistant Director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Wake Forest University. In this role he coordinated and implemented social and inter-cultural programs and events, academic intervention and support initiatives, and student leadership development programs for underrepresented students and the entire university community.

As an engaged public scholar, Jonathan regularly gives invited talks and makes media appearances, providing evidence-based commentary and insights on topics like policing in America, systemic racism, issues of social justice, and educational inequalities. He has served twice at the request of Orange County (Orlando, FL) Mayor Jerry Demings on the Citizens Safety Task Force, most recently as the Chair of the Prosecution Subcommittee, providing recommendations for Orange County social services, law enforcement, and judicial affairs towards reducing gun violence and violent crime. Through this work, Jonathan helped guide policy and funding recommendations that support and fund local grassroots organizations, provide mentoring and community-based programming for youth, create diversion programs, and increase investment in mental and behavioral health for youth and families in the Orlando area. Jonathan also regularly consults with various organizations across public and private sectors, providing expertise related to his research areas. Jonathan is a proud graduate of Hampton University, earning Bachelor of Science dual degrees in Health and Physical Education. He also holds an M.Ed. in college student affairs from the Pennsylvania State University, and an M.A and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Jonathan is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Beta Chi chapter (Hampton University). He enjoys staying active, musical performance, is an amateur chef and foodie, and loves spending time with his wife and daughter.

Dr. Lauren Pearlman

Senior Research Manager, Center for Policy Analysis and Research

Dr. Lauren Pearlman is the Senior Research Manager for the Center for Policy Analysis & Research (CPAR) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Inc (CBCF). Lauren is a scholar and educator with two decades of experience in higher education, legal, and policy arenas. Prior to joining the CBCF, she was an Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida. Her research and teaching examine law and policy’s roles in perpetuating race and gender inequalities and the harmful impact of the carceral state. Her first book, Democracy’s Capital: Black Political Power in Washington, D.C, 1960s-1970s, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2019. Bringing together histories of the carceral and welfare states, as well as the civil rights and Black Power movements, it focuses on local Black activists’ fight for greater participatory democracy and community control in the nation’s capital from the 1960s to the present. Lauren’s work has received a wide range of grant and fellowship support and can be found in the Journal of Urban History, the Journal of African American History, and the Washington Post,among others. At UF, she enjoyed mentoring students in the university’s Reubin Askew Scholars Initiative, an initiative to increase the presence of minority students in public service; advising the undergraduate-run Minority Pre-Legal Society; and serving as a M.A. and Ph.D. advisor for graduate students working on social justice topics. In Gainesville, she received a $30,000 grant to conduct community outreach with diverse stakeholders on issues like prison work camps, affordable housing campaigns, and the campaign to “ban the box” on employment forms.

Lauren began her career assisting attorneys in racial discrimination class action litigation before working for Appleseed, a network of 18 justice centers across the country and in Mexico working to reduce poverty, combat discrimination, and invigorate democracy. There she worked alongside lawyers, policy analysts, and community organizers to craft systemic solutions to local problems. Before working at UF, she served as a postdoctoral fellow in American History and Diversity Studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she led the digital content strategy, storytelling, and editing process for The West Point Guide to the Civil Rights Movement, a digital media primary document reader on the civil rights movement.

Lauren received her M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies from Yale University and a B.A. in African American Studies from Wesleyan University. She currently resides in Ellicott City, MD with her husband, two sons, and dog. She enjoys living somewhere with all four seasons again and can usually be found running on the trails and training for her next race.

Jennie Patterson

Program Manager

Sally Ayuk

Transportation Equity Senior Research Fellow

Sally Ayuk is the Transportation Equity Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Policy Analysis and Research at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF). She will work directly with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to produce policy analysis and research pertaining to transportation, sustainability, and equity, as well as to analyze best practices and policy solutions for the promotion of integrated and comprehensive efforts with the most significant impact on black communities. Before becoming a fellow, Sally had experience as a stem research and teaching assistant and GIS analyst in transportation, housing (land use), sustainable community indicators, and comprehensive plan areas. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of Texas at Arlington. Sally has lived, studied, and worked on three different continents and holds a combined M.S. in Geospatial Technologies from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, the Universities of Münster in Germany, and Jaume I University of Castelló in Spain, and a B.S. in Geography from the University of Buea in Cameroon. She is multilingual and multidisciplinary and enjoys walking, hiking, cycling, and cooking African cuisine. After completing her CBCF Fellowship, Sally's top aspirations include making an impact through policy research and education.

Rayna Young

Research Analyst

Rayna Young is the new Research Analyst for the Center for Policy Analysis and Research (CPAR) at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Inc (CBCF). Rayna will help identify opportunities for high-impact research projects, conduct research, and analyze data to help advance the CPAR research and policy agenda. She will be responsible for contributing to research design, implementation, and analysis.

Prior to joining the CBCF, Rayna has worked at the intersection of the public and private sectors addressing complex problems. She has worked on issue advocacy around reproductive health for communications agency Berlin Rosen, and has supported the nation’s largest Black-owned social impact firm in implementing meaningful DEI and corporate social responsibility initiatives at prominent businesses.

Rayna earned her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023, and earned a master’s degree from the same university in 2024, as a member of the school’s second cohort of the Accelerated Master’s in Public Policy program. As a graduate student, Rayna earned a Certificate in Innovation for the Public Good, where she learned cross-sector, community-engaged practices that are applicable to working on multi-disciplinary teams. Rayna had a concentration in Social Policy and Inequality, and her capstone project, entitled Dress Codes, Pushout, and Self-Expression: An Analysis of New York City Public Schools, is being published as a part of a larger report by Girls for Gender Equity, and was used in a New York City Council hearing about equitable dress code policies.

Rayna grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, but was born in the Northern Virginia area; and is excited to settle back into the Washington, DC area.