We write, crunch #’s, and tweet about the labor market and economic policy.

Employ America seeks to promote macroeconomic policies that ensure the sustained advancement of labor market outcomes for all American workers. What does that mean? Tight labor markets encourage employers to compete for talent, which gives workers more leverage to win higher wages and better working conditions, and reduces employment disparities across race, gender, and abilities.

Our Team

Skanda Amarnath

Executive Director

he/him/his. Prior to joining Employ America in April 2019 as Research Director, Skanda was Vice President at MKP Capital Management, where he served as a market economist and strategist. He previously worked as an Analyst within the Capital Markets function of the Research Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He has undergraduate degrees in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Columbia, and graduated in 2022 with a JD from Columbia Law School.
On Twitter
On Mastodon
On Post News


Arnab Datta

Managing Director of Policy Implementation

he/him/his. Arnab was previously Senior Counsel at Employ America, and in the past also served as law clerk for the Senate Judiciary Committee, as a fellow with the Office of Senator Michael Bennet, as a teacher, and as a speechwriter. 

Arnab is a trusted and credible expert on not just important policy questions, but the legal and economic premises that underlie them. His writing has been featured in the Financial Times, the Washington Post, Slate, and Business Insider, and has been interviewed for popular podcasts including Bloomberg’s Odd Lots, The Weeds, and Pitchfork Economics

Arnab has a Master of Science degree in Foreign Service, a Juris Doctor from George Washington University, where he was a George Washington Scholar and served as Articles Editor of the George Washington Law Review.
On Twitter


Kim Stiens

Director of Operations & Culture

she/her/hers. Kim has sampled just about every cheese on the Ops platter, from bookkeeping and compliance at the Marijuana Policy Project to editorial operations at Vox.com to talent operations at Namati. She’s also a(n infrequent) writer on the human experience at work.
On Twitter
On BlueSky


Ashley George

Policy Associate

she/her/hers. Ashley has experience in policy development and implementation at the state, local, and federal levels. A policy generalist, Ashley has dabbled in higher education, housing, climate, community development, and economic policy. Ashley received her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a Master's Degree in Public Policy.


Preston Mui

Senior Economist

he/him/his. Preston is an economist specializing in macroeconomics and labor economics. He previously worked as an analyst with the Research Group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
On Twitter


Alex Williams

Senior Economist

he/him/his. Before Employ America, Alex worked in the music industry while writing a newsletter on finance and philosophy focusing on the work of JM Keynes and Gilles Deleuze. He holds a BA Economics from McGill University and an MS Economics from the Levy Institute at Bard College.
On Twitter


Vikas Patel

Program Manager

he/him/his. Prior to joining Employ America, Vikas served as policy director and deputy chief of staff for Suraj Patel's 2020 and 2022 congressional campaign in New York's 12th District, where he developed a comprehensive policy platform that received national attention in outlets such as the New York Times, CNBC, and Scientific American in addition to speechwriting, debate preparation, campaign strategy, and finance. 
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