About me

My research addresses critical challenges in education systems in low-incomecountries, with a focus on how human capital development—from early schooling through the life cycle—shapes educational attainment, labor-market outcomes, and economic well-beingacross the life course. My broader goal is to understand how education policy can narrow early achievement gaps, expand economic opportunity, and contribute to lasting reductions in poverty. In my job market paper, I study how investments in foundational cognitive skills can alter learning outcomes and long-run development, combining field experiments with policy-relevant empirical analysis. My research agenda is shaped not only by methodology butalso by lived experience. I grew up in Mongolia in a context with limitededucational resources and now conduct field research across sub-Saharan Africa.This trajectory informs both the questions I ask and how I design and interpretmy work in context. My work has been funded by J-PAL, the Weiss Fund, and CEGA,among others, and I am a Rocca Dissertation Fellow at Berkeley’s Center forAfrican Studies. Prior to my Ph.D., I worked as a Senior Research Analyst atthe Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Outside of academia, I am a NationalChess Master and Woman FIDE Master. Long before chess became the subject of myresearch, it was a discipline I pursued competitively—shaping my interest inhow cognitively demanding activities can transform learning.

My journey

Sukhbaatar city, Selenge Province, Mongolia

I was born in a small town near the Russian border in Mongolia, with a population of less than two thousand people.

I was born in a small town near the Russian border in Mongolia, with a population of less than two thousand people. To provide me with more educational opportunities, my family moved to Sukhbaatar, the capital of Selenge Province, where I spent my childhood and attended public school. I graduated high school as valedictorian, achieving the highest score in mathematics on the national university entrance exam, which secured my acceptance to the University of Finance and Economics. At the end of my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to work and study in the United States—an experience that, unexpectedly, changed my life forever.

To provide me with more educational opportunities, my family moved to Sukhbaatar, the capital of Selenge Province, where I spent my childhood and attended public school. I graduated high school as valedictorian, achieving the highest score in mathematics on the national university entrance exam, which secured my acceptance to the University of Finance and Economics. At the end of my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to work and study in the United States—an experience that, unexpectedly, changed my life forever.

University
of California, Berkeley

In 2009, during the Great Recession, I immigrated to the United States alone, without speaking the language and with no financial support.

In 2009, during the Great Recession, I immigrated to the United States alone, without speaking the language and with no financial support. An easy path lay before me in Mongolia, the country I had grown up in—security, a good degree, a steady job. Yet, after much deliberation, I decided to stay in America seeking riskier but more expansive opportunities. It was one of the most courageous decisions of my life, and it would shape my journey in ways I never imagined.

Starting over in a new country was not easy. I worked full-time at minimum wage jobs while attending community college part-time. Every day, I faced language barriers and cultural differences, yet I remained focused on my ultimate goal: education. Along the way in America, I rediscovered my passion for competing in chess. I honed my skills and soon began competing professionally, but the real transformation came when I started teaching chess to elementary school children. Chess became my tool for connection, a way to communicate without words and to empower young minds.
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After seven years away from my academic journey, I was finally accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, as a transfer student. It felt like a dream come true—a moment when I, like a fish released from an aquarium into the vast ocean, found my true potential.

Looking back, I chose the unknown and rocky path, I would not alter one step. The risks I took, the challenges I faced, and the unexpected opportunities I embraced all led me to where I am today.

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( My parents in front of Laney Community College, where I began my higher-education journey in the US. They were visiting from Mongolia when I returned to campus as a panelist for an event hosted by the Mongolian Student Association.)
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An easy path lay before me in Mongolia, the country I had grown up
in—security, a good degree, a steady job. Yet, after much deliberation, I decided to stay in America seeking riskier but more expansive opportunities. It was one of the most courageous decisions of my life, and it would shape my journey in ways I never imagined.

Starting over in a new country was not easy. I worked full-time at minimum wage jobs while attending community college part-time. Every day, I faced language barriers and cultural differences, yet I remained focused on my ultimate goal: education. Along the way in America, I rediscovered my passion for competing in chess. I honed my skills and soon began competing professionally, but the real transformation came when I started teaching chess to elementary school children. Chess became my tool for connection, a way to communicate without words and to empower young minds.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

After graduating from UC Berkeley with distinct honors,
I went on to work at the Institute for Research on Labor
and Employment (IRLE) and later as a Senior Research
Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

After graduating from UC Berkeley with distinct honors,
I went on to work at the Institute for Research on Labor
and Employment (IRLE) and later as a Senior Research
Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
During the 2009 Great Recession, my path was deeply affected as an immigrant navigating new challenges.
Then, a decade later during the COVID-19 recession
in 2019, I found myself on the other side, analyzing
economic impacts from within the Federal Reserve.
It was a full-circle moment.

During the 2009 Great Recession, my path was deeply affected as an immigrant navigating new challenges. Then, a decade later during
the COVID-19 recession in 2019, I found myself on the other side, analyzing economic impacts from within the Federal Reserve.
It was a full-circle moment.

Celebrating Professor David Card’s Nobel Prize during my first year as a PhD student with my colleagues

I’m extremely happy to be back at Berkeley, pursuing my doctoral program in Economics, the very place where my passion for economics was first sparked as an undergraduate. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

I’m extremely happy to be back at Berkeley, pursuing my doctoral program in Economics, the very place where my passion
for economics was first sparked as an undergraduate.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.