Biography
Selen studies how people build coalitions, develop public policies, and the impact that change-making has on them. Focusing on government and higher education as case studies, Selen’s work utilizes mixed methods and interdisciplinary scholarship to explore how organizational dynamics, culture, and shifts in political economy influence change processes. She is currently a Dissertation Fellow at the Center for Engaged Scholarship.
Selen's dissertation examines urban coalitions who fight economic inequality in a time of increasing polarization. Titled Tech Boom to Tax Boom: Affordable Housing and the New Politics of Redistribution in a Superstar City, this study asks how Seattle passed a historic local tax on big businesses after years of unsuccessful attempts. Through archival analysis and key informant interviews, Selen’s research sheds light on the political shifts and realignments that have reshaped local power. Selen's other research projects extend her focus on public policy, and the interplay of moral values and political ideology.
Selen also investigates how "academic change teams" form and evolve over time, studying how change-making operates within STEM higher education. This focus emerged from conducting participatory action research with Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED): academic change teams funded by the NSF to create ‘revolutionary’ changes in undergraduate education, while preparing students to navigate current and future socio-technical challenges.
For most of their time in grad school, Selen worked at UW-based interdisciplinary Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE), doing participatory action research and program evaluation. They served on the EDI Committee for Cosmic Explorer.
You can find their publications on Google Scholar.