Katya Migacheva

Social Scientist

Boston Office

Education

Ph.D. in social psychology, University of Massachusetts

One Page Bio

Overview

Katya Migacheva (she/her) is a social scientist at the RAND Corporation. She has a passion for connecting social science and application and bringing research to inform the urgent challenges of today. Migacheva has conducted work both within the United States and internationally and applied her diverse methodological and subject matter expertise to research and program evaluations in the domains of targeted violence prevention, societies in transition, diversity, equity, and inclusion, education, criminal justice, and international relations. In her current position at RAND, Migacheva leads multidisciplinary research teams, contributes to business development, liaises between researchers and policy stakeholders, and serves as a faculty member at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Prior to RAND, Migacheva served as a Senior Fellow on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. Congress, where she managed a diverse international portfolio, developed legislation, liaised with international NGOs, and elevated social scientific voices to inform foreign and domestic policies. Migacheva holds a Ph.D. in social psychology with the concentration in psychology of peace and violence from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Research Focus

Languages

Russian; Spanish; English

Commentary

Crime and Violence Prevention

States Have Leading Role to Play in Preventing Mass Shootings
As the United States grapples with how to prevent mass shootings, state governments might be best positioned to take the lead on long-term, sustainable efforts that prevent targeted violence.
Jun 13, 2022
Route Fifty

Publications

Report
Russian Military Personnel Policy and Proficiency: Reforms and Trends, 1991–2021
The authors of this report draw on Russian-language sources to examine trends in Russian military personnel policies and initiatives from the 1990s through December 2021, prior to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Aug 15, 2023
Report
Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of Project imPACT — A Proposition 47–Funded Program in Los Angeles: Cohort 2 Final Evaluation Report
This report presents findings related to individuals served by Project imPACT, an employment-focused reentry program, between June 2020 and September 2022, demonstrating how service providers helped Fellows achieve several of the program's goals.
May 12, 2023
Research Brief
Wraparound Services Are Key to Helping Justice-Involved Los Angelenos Get and Keep Jobs
A team of researchers from the RAND Corporation and Harder+Company Community Research partnered with the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Reentry to evaluate Cohort 2 of Project imPACT. This brief highlights program implementation and outcome findings.
May 12, 2023
Journal Article
State Targeted Violence Prevention: Programming & Key Performance Indicators
This resource is a guide for U.S. state governments as they seek to implement comprehensive targeted violence prevention (TVP) programming and evaluate its implementation, outcomes, and impact.
May 18, 2022
Research Brief
Helping Los Angelenos Involved in the Criminal Justice System Get and Keep Jobs
The authors summarize findings of a process and outcome evaluation of Project imPACT, an employment program for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system, which provided services from July 2018 to December 2020.
Aug 16, 2021
Report
Project imPACT Cohort 1 Final Local Evaluation Report
The authors summarize findings from a process and outcome evaluation of Cohort 1 of Project imPACT, an employment program for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system, which provided services from July 2018 to December 2020.
Aug 16, 2021
Report
Superspreaders of Malign and Subversive Information on COVID-19: Russian and Chinese Efforts Targeting the United States
This report, part of the Truth Decay initiative, is one in a series describing malign and subversive information efforts related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that Russian and Chinese outlets appear to have used to target U.S. audiences.
Apr 29, 2021
Report
Georgia II STEM Higher Education Interim Evaluation Report
The authors evaluate the implementation of a San Diego State University partnership with three universities in the country of Georgia, part of a U.S.-Georgia collaboration to improve university education in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Jan 5, 2021
Report
Russia's Hostile Measures: Combating Russian Gray Zone Aggression Against NATO in the Contact, Blunt, and Surge Layers of Competition
Exploring opportunities to deter, prevent, and counter Russia's use of hostile measures is critical to containing their consequences for both target countries and Western alliances and in both the gray zone short of war and conventional warfare.
Jan 7, 2020
Report
The Future of the Russian Military: Russia's Ground Combat Capabilities and Implications for U.S.-Russia Competition
Researchers analyze societal, political, economic, and demographic factors that undergird Russian military power. They also make projections about how Russian ground combat capabilities will evolve in the future and how the U.S. Army can respond.
Jun 18, 2019
Research Brief
What Will Russian Military Capabilities Look Like in the Future?
RAND researchers analyzed the development of Russia's military capabilities over the next 20 years -- with a focus on ground combat -- and the implications of that development for U.S.-Russian competition and for the U.S. Army.
Jun 18, 2019
Report
"The Project May Serve the Nation — But What About Us, Who Live Here?": Villagers' Views of the Dawei Special Economic Zone, an Internationally Funded Infrastructure Project in Myanmar
To gain a better understanding of how foreign infrastructure investment in Myanmar may affect local communities, RAND researchers conducted a survey of 250 residents of communities near the Dawei Special Economic Zone.
Jun 4, 2019
Research Brief
The Growing Need to Focus on Modern Political Warfare
RAND researchers analyzed how political warfare is practiced today and identified ways that the U.S. government, its allies, and its partners can respond to or engage in this type of conflict to achieve U.S. ends and protect U.S. interests.
May 31, 2019
Journal Article
Georgia II STEM Higher Education Evaluation Design Report (Revised)
U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation is funding a higher education partnership in the country of Georgia. This report delineates the evaluation design and approach that will be used for evaluating the successes and challenges of this effort.
2019
Report
Modern Political Warfare: Current Practices and Possible Responses
Analyzes how political warfare is practiced today and identifies the most effective ways that the U.S. government, along with its allies and partners, can respond to or engage in this type of conflict to achieve U.S. ends and protect U.S. interests.
Apr 5, 2018
Report
Religion, Conflict, and Stability in the Former Soviet Union
Religion has become increasingly important in the sociopolitical life of countries in the former Soviet Union. This volume of essays examines how religion affects conflict and stability in the region and provides recommendations to policymakers.
Jan 15, 2018
Report
School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review: Updated and Expanded
This updated report presents a synthesis of the evidence base on school leadership interventions and describes the opportunities for supporting such interventions under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Dec 14, 2017
Report
Lessons from Russia's Operations in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine
This report assesses the annexation of Crimea by Russia (February-March 2014) and the early phases of political mobilization and combat operations in Eastern Ukraine (late February to late May 2014).
May 9, 2017