Danilo A. Contreras , Ph.D.

Biography

Danilo Antonio Contreras is assistant director at the Social Science Research Institute. At SSRI, he supports interdisciplinary and public-engaged research initiatives across proposal development, implementation, and evaluation phases. He also works with the Director and Executive Committee on faculty development, seed grants, self-study activities, and strategic planning. 

In addition to his role at SSRI, Danilo is assistant teaching professor in the School of Public Policy, where he teaches courses on race and social welfare policies in the United States and Latin America. His research focuses on the effects of ethno-nationalism and migration on political behavior in the Americas. 

Previously, Danilo was assistant professor of political science at Wellesley College, a fellow at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center, and president of the New England Council on Latin American Studies. Prior to entering graduate school, he worked in the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and an A.B. from Georgetown University.