Ph.D. Student, RAND School of Public Policy, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND
He/Him
Cristian Cardenas is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. student in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at the RAND School of Public Policy. He has an M.B.S. in clinical and regulatory affairs from Keck Graduate Institute and a B.S. in biotechnology with a minor in philosophy from the University of California, Davis.
Prior to joining RAND, he was a business development manager at the Larta Institute, where he expanded access to non-dilutive funding for federal small business innovation research grant recipients. His primary role involved launching a health and bioscience incubator targeting BIPOC and women entrepreneurs. He chairs the board of the Luminarias Institute, a nonprofit community mental health program providing no-cost clinical therapy to underserved populations in Los Angeles County. His research interests include economic development, sustainable innovation, community mental health, and workforce advocacy.
M.B.S. in clinical and regulatory affairs, Keck Graduate Institute; B.S. in biotechnology, University of California-Davis
