The Demographics Research Group conducts practical and policy-oriented analysis of census and demographic data; and communicates rigorous research and its policy implications to decision makers and the general public through meaningful publications and presentations.
Access the official Virginia population projections and estimates and our national population projections.
Explore trends in population, regional distribution, politics, school enrollment, and migration.
Understand the changing human landscape in Virginia and nationally through powerful data visualizations.
Qian Cai
Director, Demographics Research Group
E-Mail: qian.cai@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5581
Qian Cai (pronounced “chien tsai”) is director of the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Drawing on her extensive knowledge of population statistics, and national reputation in applied demography, Qian oversees the group’s data production and research, ensures top quality publications and client service, and maintains an ambitious agenda for improving population data for Virginia and the nation. A native of China, Qian received a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in demography, both from Peking University. She received a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University.
Meredith Gunter
Director of Outreach
E-Mail: meredith.gunter@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5585
Meredith’s current role as Director of Strategy and Public Engagement builds on her prior work as Interim Director of the Cooper Center and as outreach director for the Center’s Demographics Research Group. Prior experience includes policy and special initiative development in state government, with a particular interest in international relations, and senior leadership in several institutions of higher education. Meredith’s research, teaching, and educational achievements focus on human intellectual and ethical development, gerontology, and racial/gender equity. Meredith is a devoted locavore and dog lover.
Kyaw Khine
Research & Policy Analyst
E-Mail: kyaw.khine@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5690
Kyaw Khine is a Research and Policy Analyst for the Demographics Research Group. He has a background in policy analysis, data analysis, and Geographic Information System. He is passionate about education, environmental sustainability, and economic issues and previously worked as a Green Economy Intern at WWF-Myanmar and as a Social Impact Intern at Proximity Designs. He is particularly interested in creating data visualizations and making demographics information easier to understand. Kyaw received his B.Sc. in Geosciences from Mississippi State University and Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Virginia.
Hamilton Lombard
Research & Policy Analyst
E-Mail: hamilton.lombard@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5698
Hamilton Lombard is a research specialist for the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. His expertise is in demographic change, particularly the different components of population growth and decline, population estimates, school enrollment projections, and the effect of government policy on population patterns. Hamilton has worked in local and regional planning in Virginia and the United Kingdom. He earned his B.A. in History and B.S. in Planning from the University of Virginia.
Shonel Sen
Research & Policy Analyst
E-Mail: shonel.sen@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5861
Shonel Sen is a Research and Policy Analyst for the Demographics Research Group. She has a strong background in Regional Economics, Population Studies and Public Policy with training in theoretical modeling and quantitative analysis. Her interdisciplinary research interests bring together elements from the fields of Economic Development, Components of Population Change, Behavioral Incentives and Environmental Sustainability. Shonel received her B.A and M.A. in Economics from India and the Dual-Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Demography at Pennsylvania State University.
Spencer Shanholtz
Research & Policy Analyst
E-Mail: spencer.shanholtz@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-4770
Spencer Shanholtz is a Research and Policy Analyst for the Demographics Research Group at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. His expertise is in statistical and economic analysis and data visualization with special focus on regional and geospatial information. He has demonstrated experience related to housing, transportation, demographics, policy analysis, and economic development. Prior to joining the Demographics Research Group, Spencer worked for the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University and the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech. Spencer earned his B.A. in Geography, B.S. in Environmental Science, and Master of Urban and Regional Planning (M.U.R.P) from Virginia Tech.
Amy Muldoon
Project Manager
E-Mail: amy.muldoon@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-0812
Amy Muldoon is the coordinator for the Demographics Research Group at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. In 2010, Amy moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan where she worked at the University of Michigan as an academic advisor in the liberal arts college. She has experience designing websites, building and maintaining databases, and managing various college programs and projects. She earned her B.A. in Professional Writing from Miami University (OH) and her M.A. in English from the University of Toledo.
Kathryn Piper Crespin
Research & Policy Analyst
E-Mail: kep9k@virginia.edu
Phone: (434) 982-5582
Kathryn Piper Crespin is a Research and Policy Analyst for the Demographics Research Group. She enjoys writing about demography, and her training and interests include population forecasting as well as analysis, mapping, and visualization of population data. Prior to joining the Demographics Research Group, she worked as an epidemiologist for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Utah Department of Health. Kathryn earned her B.A. in English from Georgetown University and her M.S. in Demography from Florida State University.
“'Six out of 10 individuals who are out of work in Virginia are women.' That’s Shonel Sen at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.” Read Sen's article, Gender differences in Virginia's out-of-work population.
The New York Times refers readers to the Cooper Center StatChat blog to find the answer to this question that they pose in their article: "What is the optimal number of House seats?"
"Women in Virginia are more than twice as likely to reach the age of 85 than men. That’s according to Kathryn Crespin at the University of Virginia, who says women are twice as likely to face disability in old age and three times as likely to face Alzheimer’s." Read Crespin's article, Five implications of the life expectancy gap between Virginia's men and women.
"Shonel Sen of the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service says these numbers reflect a national shift: 'The same trend is reflected in Virginia...but the fertility decline is more prominent in Virginia.'" Read Sen's article, "Are women in Virginia choosing to have children later in life?"
"Based on 2017 Census Bureau population estimates, Crespin, a researcher at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, constructed 'population pyramids,' graphics that show the distribution of Virginia’s local and regional populations by age group and sex."