Hola! I'm Ysa!
My name is Ysabel, but you can call me Ysa :)
I am a researcher with a background in law and a growing focus on empirical methods in political science and public policy. I originally trained at the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University, and I am now pursuing an MSc in Public Policy at University College London (UCL). I remain affiliated with Cardiff through the Centre for Environmental Justice and continue to collaborate on research networks related to law, inequality, and public policy.
My work sits at the intersection of institutions, inequality, and empirical research. I am particularly interested in how law, political behaviour, and public policy shape outcomes in education, criminal justice, and migration. This includes using methods such as causal inference, survey experiments, and text-as-data (NLP) to study complex social and institutional problems.
Although I come from a legal background, I have increasingly moved toward economics, data science, and computational text analysis. I enjoy bridging disciplines (law, economics, AI, and political science) to understand how institutions work, why they sometimes fail, and how evidence can inform better policy.
Alongside my formal studies, I have completed additional training through HarvardX, MITx, and J-PAL in areas such as data analysis, development economics, and randomized evaluations. These courses introduced me to empirical approaches that now shape my research trajectory.
I am also passionate about science communication. As a first-generation student, I believe that knowledge should be accessible to all, not limited by academic background. Through writing, teaching, and digital media, I aim to make research more inclusive and understandable, especially for underrepresented communities.
Science Communication →
I use social media as a platform for accessible science communication, where I share short videos, research insights, and reflections on law, policy, and inequality. You can find my posts and videos here:
Initiatives and Independent Research Projects
CLEIA - Center for Law, Economics, and Artificial Intelligence
I am the founder of CLEIA, an independent research initiative focused on the intersection of law, economics, and artificial intelligence. I lead projects examining how technology and data-driven tools can address inequality, improve institutional accountability, and enhance policy design. I am responsible for defining the research agenda and coordinating interdisciplinary collaborations with diverse academic, governmental, and non-governmental organisations.
My Mentor Lab
I am the founder of My Mentor Lab, an educational initiative that combines mentoring, academic support, and evidence-based programme design to reduce educational inequality in Latin America. The project focuses on high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds and aims to expand access to university pathways—both locally and internationally.
Our model integrates randomised interventions, data-driven evaluation, and personalised mentoring to support students throughout secondary school and into higher education. We work with each cohort to build academic skills, guide university applications, and connect students with scholarship opportunities in Europe and other developed countries.
My role includes developing the programme’s theory of change, designing its field-experiment framework, and overseeing the monitoring and evaluation strategy. My Mentor Lab reflects my broader research interest in educational inequality, development, and evidence-based policy design.
Girls First Lab
I am the founder of Girls First Lab, an initiative focused on reducing gender gaps in education and academic careers. The project promotes access to research opportunities, skills development, and mentorship for young women interested in higher education. Girls First Lab reflects my broader interest in gender inequality, institutional barriers, and evidence-based strategies to improve participation and representation in academia and the workforce.
Advocacy
I engage in advocacy around neurodiversity and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with a focus on inclusion, accessibility, and educational equity. My interest in neurodiversity connects closely to my research on inequality and access to education and to my experience as a first-generation student committed to widening participation.
Outside academia
Outside of research, I enjoy music (playing piano and classical guitar). During and after high school, I attended the Music Conservatory of Valencia, where I studied music theory, composition, and piano. I also enjoy creative writing, photography, and science communication. I also create short videos and blog posts to make academic concepts more accessible to wider audiences.
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| La Colonia Tovar in Venezuela |
My background
I am Portuguese with dual nationality. I was born in a tiny, picturesque German-founded town in Venezuela called La Colonia Tovar, so I hold dual citizenship from Portugal and Venezuela. I've been living in the UK for the past 6 years.
Here is an interesting story about my birthplace :)
In 1840, during the government of José Antonio Páez, there was a great emigration from the countryside to the city, and the agricultural production of Venezuela was falling, so the Italian soldier and geographer Agostino Codazzi was entrusted with a plan to attract German settlers to work the fields.
Martín Tovar Ponte, one of the heroes of the independence movement, chose the lands at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level where the town is located today, graced by a mild climate and fertile soil.
Two years later, a group of 60 families from the village of Endingen, in the current German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, troubled after a time of bad harvests, accepted Codazzi's offer and began a crossing across the Atlantic that would take them to the lands of Colonia Tovar.
It should be noted that the German settlers preserved and brought to Venezuela the iconic architecture of their towns in Germany, and made the buildings based on the same style; even today, this architecture can be seen across the village.
