About Me
Danielle currently works as an instructor and postdoctoral researcher in political science at the University of Cologne. In September 2024, she defended her PhD dissertation. Her dissertation was written as part of the International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy, a doctoral program offered jointly by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and the Faculty of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne. Her PhD supervisor was Prof. Dr. André Kaiser of the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics. Other members of her thesis advisory committee were Chitralekha Basu (Cologne) and Letizia Mencarini (Bocconi University).
Her dissertation concerns abortion access in Europe, with a particular focus on how abortion policies are implemented and how this affects doctors and other medical professionals' choice to offer abortion services. The qualitative component includes a field study in Puglia, Italy, analyzing the reasons behind high regional levels of conscientious objection to abortion among medical personnel and how this affects the effective implementation of the national law on abortion. Danielle also has gathered quantitative data to facilitate comparative analysis of abortion access between European countries, with a goal of understanding the regional and local policies and population characteristics that make a region more or less appealing for abortion providers to work there.
Danielle is also involved in several other research projects beside her dissertation, with the most up-to-date list in the downloadable CV. Topics of these projects include: how gender-typical speaking styles affect MPs' career progression, comparisons of different national and regional abortion policies, and the intersection of attitudes on abortion and other family policies.
She holds an MA in Political Science, a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management, a BA in Political Science, a BA in Philosophy, and an undergraduate-level Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies. Before moving to Germany, Danielle worked in the private and nonprofit sectors in several organizations related to impact investing, tech startups, leadership development, and generally project management.