Noelle Whorf is a Research Assistant for MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development for Regional and Economic Innovation (REI). She is a third-year student studying Economics and Public Policy with prospective minors in Geospatial Analytics and Quantitative Data Analytics. Noelle’s interests center on how natural and built environments connect to public health outcomes and economic opportunity, and how data and policy can be used to address these issues. She is especially passionate about interdisciplinary research, and has contributed to projects through the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, the Department of Geography, and Matrix: The Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a part of the Social Science Scholars Program, Federal Reserve Challenge Team, and serves as President of MSU’s undergraduate literature review journal. She enjoys reading about agri-food systems and modern monetary theory, and is curious about structural solutions that drive long-term growth.