Center for Child & Family Policy | Duke University

Melissa Ricks Martin

Research Analyst II

Melissa Ricks Martin is a research analyst at the Center for Child and Family Policy. She currently works on the Fast Track Study, the Child Development Project, and the Prospective Study of Infant Development (PSID).

She previously served at the Center as the project coordinator for the Durham Health Census project. She also worked as a senior data tech for the PSID project and the Kids in Durham Study (KIDS). Martin began working at the Center in October 2009, initially as a research aide for the Fast Track project before becoming a research aide for PSID in January 2010.

While initially intending to pursue a vocation in law, Martin’s career goals changed after volunteering as a reading partner with children who struggled with learning and reading disabilities at several Chapel Hill elementary schools. This spurred a desire to pursue a career path that would allow her to combine her interest in utilizing policy implementation in an effort to improve the wellbeing of at-risk children.

Martin was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Education:

• B.A. English, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -