Economics Distinguished Alum is Dana Rotz of Wizards of the Coast
The Department of Economics is delighted to announce our 2024 Distinguished Alum, who will give the charge to graduates at the graduation ceremony on May 16. Her bio is as follows:
Dana Rotz completed the Economics BA/MA program at Boston University in 2007. She liked the department so much that she decided to stay, working as a Research Assistant and completing the first year of her doctoral studies. She eventually received her PhD in Economics from Harvard University, where she focused on the Economics of the Family and Applied Econometrics. Rotz’s academic research has been published in a diverse set of outlets, including the Journal of Human Resources, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Observational Studies.
Rotz spent the first part of her career at Mathematica Policy Research, where she led projects to both evaluate social programs and help policymakers and practitioners to understand and use research. She is most proud of her efforts as Principal Investigator of the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, a resource on strategies to help individuals with low incomes succeed in the labor market; her leadership on evaluations of contraceptive counseling programs for teenage mothers; and her work on the Workforce Investment Act Gold Standard Evaluation, a study of one of the nation’s largest employment programs.
After a brief foray in the tech sector, Rotz joined Wizards of the Coast as a Principal Economist. As a Wizard, she blends economic models, econometrics, and data analytics to inform key business decisions for Magic: The Gathering. Working with stakeholders throughout the company, she brings economic insights to decision-making in areas as diverse as pricing, product design, marketing, operations, and consumer research.