Gender Data Collective

The Gender Data Collective (GDC) is a group of undergraduate students interested in gender-based research and advancing the conversation on the importance of studying gender issues, as well as promoting gender minority research that has real-life implications in the U.S. The GDC plans to facilitate a series of research projects for undergraduate students interested in gender-based research. Our first research project will be conducted in the 2026 spring semester and is called Gender Data Collective: An Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Study on Regional-Based Sex Education and Gender Attitudes in the U.S.

Research Team

Ella Kushins

Ella Kushins is a second-year undergraduate. She is an alumnus of the Women’s Leadership Program, works as a WLP mentor, and is a co-founder of the WLP Scholar Program. She volunteers at various spaces in the legal field, such as the Multiracial Democracy Project at GW Law, In the Streets, Kali Law Offices, and the Dependency Advocacy Center. The most meaningful work she’s been able to engage with in the legal sphere has been directly working on VAWA cases, connecting with and helping victims of domestic violence. Ella also recently co-founded her own non-profit called Trigger Empathy, hosting dialogue sessions with female speakers from international conflict zones on college campuses to change the narrative on how we educate on conflicts—centering women’s voices with lived experience on the ground. She is extremely passionate about advancing women’s issues and advocacy, and research is a brilliant way to do that, which is why she’s proud to call herself a co-founder of the Gender Data Collective.

Seren Julian

Seren Julian is an undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Marketing. In addition to co-founding the Gender Data Collective with Ella, Seren has worked as a fellow for Futures Without Violence, developing a campaign for the first quantitative data on Teen Economic Abuse in the U.S. She currently holds a year-long internship with Legal Aid DC, working in nonprofit development and communications. Throughout her time at GW, she has been involved in multiple organizations across campus and has done community outreach against interpersonal violence in her hometown, Charlotte, NC. She is passionate about working on public advocacy issues and contributing to this wonderful team of people.

Lucy Eckel

Lucy Eckel is an undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Political Communication and Human Services & Social Justice. She brings experience in legislative communications, public affairs research, and youth-focused advocacy across local, state, and federal settings. She has supported policy and constituent communications for elected officials, contributed to research and evaluation projects for youth-serving nonprofits, and led campus initiatives focused on student wellbeing, community engagement, and strategic communication. Lucy also volunteers as a Peer Advisor with GW’s Title IX Office. Her work centers on understanding how public policy, social systems, and communication practices shape young people’s experiences — particularly around health, equity, and justice. Lucy is excited to bring her past experiences with the DC City Council, Oregon State Legislature, the U.S. Senate, crisis lines, the classroom, and teen sexual health clinics to the GDC. Through her academic and professional background in research, messaging strategy, and community-based programs, she is excited to contribute to the meaningful work of this team.

n [dot] lauchlangwmail [dot] gwu [dot] edu (Natalie Lauchlan)

Natalie Lauchlan is a second-year undergraduate student from Arlington, Massachusetts in the Milken School of Public Health. With a major in Public Health and a minor in Spanish and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, she is cultivating a passion for the role of public health in improving the US healthcare system to provide more equitable and accommodating care. Outside of her studies, she is a member of GW’s GlobeMed chapter, where she participates in collaborative work with Set Her Free, a nonprofit organization in Kampala, Uganda working on the education and empowerment of Ugandan women and girls. She also plays on an intramural volleyball team at GW. Her prior research experience through GW courses is rooted in project-based research and applied skills in psychology and biology. She is excited about the opportunity to conduct and present this research with the Gender Data Collective.

Nora Perez-Rubio

Nora Perez-Rubio is a first year undergraduate student from Atlanta, Georgia majoring in Sociology and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies. Beyond the Gender Data Collective, at GWU she is involved with Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Honors Society, and is a member of the International Arts and Culture Cohort of the Women’s Leadership Program. She is also a member of Georgetown University’s intercollegiate policy debate team, where she researches predominantly feminist and African-American studies, and works as a debate coach for Sutton Middle School. Working in debate has made her extremely passionate about K-12 education which has driven her to be an active member of the Atlanta Urban Debate League, where she helps underprivileged youth use policy debate to raise political literacy. She is looking forward to bringing her experience in K-12 education towards sex education and gender attitudes through the Gender Data Collective.

Liliana Triviski

Liliana Triviski is a second-year undergraduate studying Political Science and Criminal Justice at George Washington University. She currently works as a Legislative Intern for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), supporting policy research, constituent correspondence, and judiciary-related legislative projects. Her interests center on criminal justice reform, particularly bail practices, sentencing disparities, and alternatives to incarceration, shaped by her previous internship with the Pretrial Division of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, where she gained firsthand insight into the impact of pretrial decisions on communities. On campus, Liliana serves as the Events Director for the Pre-Law Student Association and as an Editor for The Justice Journal, GW’s undergraduate legal journal, roles that allow her to help cultivate legal scholarship and professional development for her peers. Across her work, she is committed to leveraging evidence-based research to shape law and policy rooted in equity and compassion.

Faculty Mentor

Lauryn King

Dr. Lauryn King is the director of GWIPP's Gender Policy Research Program. Dr. King received her PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. Her research focuses on the intersectional impacts of public policies on reproduction and fertility. Dr. King recently worked with the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health on a research project focused on young people’s contraceptive decision-making in the wake of the Dobbs decision, resulting in one paper recently published in Health Affairs and another in Women's Health Issues. She also serves as part-time faculty for the Department of Sociology and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.