Christopher Nelson

Biography

Christopher Nelson is senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He previously served as associate director for research at RAND's Pittsburgh office. Nelson's current work focuses on evaluating and improving systems for national health security, including analytical support for the National Health Security Strategy and Implementation Plan, development of performance measures and standards, and program evaluations. Results of his research have appeared in Health Affairs, the American Journal of Public Health, Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Annual Review of Public Health, and numerous RAND reports and briefings to policymakers.

Nelson has also studied workplace safety and was founding director of the RAND Center for Health and Safety in the Workplace. In addition, he spent several years evaluating market-based educational reforms in the United States; his education-related work was published in What's Public About Charter Schools Lessons Learned About Choice and Accountability (coauthored with Gary Miron, Corwin Press, 2002) and numerous papers and technical reports.

Before coming to RAND, Nelson was senior research associate at the Western Michigan University Evaluation Center, visiting assistant professor of Public Policy and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Public Policy and Management, and a policy analyst with the Illinois state legislature.

Nelson received his B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.