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Basil Halperin

Postdoctoral Scholar, Economics

Contact Info
Mail Code: 6072
basilh@stanford.edu

Mahmoud Hamdi

Undergraduate, Psychology

Contact Info
Mail Code: 3046
mhamdi42@stanford.edu

BioI am a social psychologist with experience leading centers and teams within higher ed. I study and put into practice strategies to help people live, work, and thrive in today’s increasingly diverse and divided world. My expertise is in harnessing the power of culture to support organizational and societal change and disrupting cultural defaults that lead to bias and inequality. My research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, covered by national media outlets, and supported by leading foundations.

As Executive Director and Senior Research Scientist at Stanford SPARQ, I oversee the center’s team and projects. I partner with practitioners in criminal justice, education, economic mobility, education, health, media, and technology to leverage behavioral science insights to drive change. I prioritize an approach to research that is grounded in society’s most pressing problems and centers the perspectives of practitioners working to lead change on the ground. I create opportunities for researchers and practitioners to learn from one another in mutually beneficial partnerships. I also regularly speak and advise on how social science research on race, culture, and inequality can drive strategies for change.

Before Stanford SPARQ, I was Associate Director of Stanford’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) and Stanford's Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). I am a Stanford Ph.D. alum in Social Psychology.