Evelynn Michaud-Spangler

My name is Evelynn Michaud-Spangler, and I was born and raised in Everett, Washington. I recently moved back to the Puget Sound area after graduating with my Master of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

At UW-Madison, I worked as a Higher Education and Public Affairs Fellow in the Vice Chancellor’s Office of Finance and Administration as well as a Project Assistant and later Research Coordinator at the Institute for Research on Poverty. Prior to grad school, I worked as a Data Analyst and Academic Advisor at the University of Washington Bothell.

I graduated from UW Bothell in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and Law, Economics, and Public Policy. Growing up in a lower income household with a disabled parent, I knew that while higher education would provide me upward social mobility, my family lacked the financial means to save for college, much less make ends meet at times. I was able to attend university because of need-based programs like the Pell Grant, Washington State College Grant, and the Husky Promise which covered the remaining cost of my tuition and fees. That experience shaped my commitment to serving low-income, underrepresented, and minoritized communities like my own as well as others. 

That commitment is also what drew me to the Statewide Equity Analyst role with Washington State’s Office of Equity. Government policies and programs have not always been designed to benefit everyone, which in large part drive modern day racial and other socioeconomic disparities. As a Statewide Equity Analyst, I intend to ensure government serves all Washingtonians, in particular marginalized and underserved communities. I will continuously work to achieve this goal by using data to measure the impact of state programs and policies and holding state agencies accountable by determining whether the impacts are being distributed equitably across marginalized groups using disaggregation. I am proud to be in the position to serve my home state of Washington and the community that has provided my family and I with the resources and opportunities to succeed in life.

Given my background in higher education, I am especially passionate about education policy, particularly education inequities and inequalities, as well as how education operates as a social determinant of health and other life chances. I believe education, as the pathway to upward mobility and security, is a human right, and everyone deserves the opportunity to be a lifelong learner. My other research interests include school choice models like charter schools and school vouchers as well as the role of neoliberal free-market capitalism in the privatization and marketization of public education. 

In my free time, I enjoy hiking, baking, crocheting, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends.