Researchers - ProCon.org

The ProCon.org Research Team

Tracey DeFrancesco
Todd Goodman
Jeffrey Hendricks

Javier Inda
Relic Sun
Jodi Young

Tracey DeFrancesco, Researcher
Tracey Marie DeFrancesco graduated magna cum laude from Pepperdine University with a BA in International Studies (International and Intercultural Communication concentration). As an undergraduate, Tracey interned at CNN and worked for the network at the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
Tracey earned a Master's Degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the UCLA School of Public Affairs, with a Counterterrorism and National Security concentration. Her coursework focused on counterterrorism policy, models of deterrence for nuclear terrorism, and decision under uncertainty. She was a teaching assistant for courses in policy analysis, imperfect rationality, and crime control policy.
Tracey has worked as a policy analyst and consultant, and, more recently, as a disaster analyst in the field of emergency preparedness.
Tracey joined ProCon.org in June 2007. She is currently in charge of ACLU ProCon.org and Medical Marijuana ProCon.org. She is also a contributor to the 2008 Election ProCon.org website.

Todd Goodman, Researcher
Todd graduated from the University of Vermont in 2000 with a BS in Environmental Studies, writing his senior thesis on the development of environmental ethics in the United States and its application in outdoor adventure tourism in Vermont. He went on to receive his MA in International Development from the University of Denver in 2005, with concentrations in socio-political analysis and the Middle East. While in graduate school, Todd interned with the university's Human Rights Advocacy Clinic where he developed a case study of terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Israel. This case study looked at the relationship between international human rights law, humanitarian law, and their application to non-state actors (such as terrorist organizations). Todd also interned with the Geneva Initiative in Tel Aviv, Israel in the winter of 2005.
After graduating, Todd moved to Boston to become a researcher and consultant for the Abraham Path Initiative at Harvard University Law School's Program on Negotiations. During his time at Harvard he took a short leave of absence and accepted an internship position with the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an analyst for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and armed conflicts and socio-political developments in Uganda.
Todd has studied, worked and traveled extensively through Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Europe, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Todd joined ProCon.org in January 2007. He is currently in charge of Israeli-Palestinian ProCon.org and Born Gay ProCon.org.

Jeffrey Hendricks, Researcher
Jeffrey D. Hendricks is a two-time graduate from California State University at Long Beach. As an undergraduate Jeffrey majored in Modern United States History and was recognized on the Presidents Honor list. During his graduate level studies, Jeffrey maintained a 4.0 GPA while earning his Master of Arts in United States History. His main areas of historical interest are the cultural and intellectual aspects of Environmental history, Native American history and the history of social and environmental justice movements in the United States.
His Masters Thesis, "Constructing the Panopticon: Perceptions of Wilderness, Methods of Domination and the Colonization of Native America," was published in December, 2006, and deals with how perceptions of wilderness influenced the colonization of North America. Other topics he has researched include the effects of colonization on the Tohono O'odham Nation of Southern Arizona, Witchcraft persecutions in the Colonial U.S., and the Weather Underground - an anti-war organization active during the Vietnam War period.
Jeffrey has worked with many organizations including the Save Ward Valley Coalition, Los Angeles and Long Beach Food Not Bombs, the O'odham Solidarity Project, and others.
Jeffrey joined ProCon.org in June 2007. He is currently in charge of Euthanasia ProCon.org, Milk ProCon.org, and Felon Voting ProCon.org.

Javier Inda, Researcher
Javier migrated from Argentina in 1989 where he served as a Second Lieutenant of the Argentine Army. He obtained a Masters degree with an emphasis in American History and Latin American Economic History from California State University Los Angeles in 2005.

His fields of historical expertise are American slavery, gender, and immigration. He was in the Deans’ Honor List and inducted into Phi Alpha Theta and the History Society. He presented a graduate seminar titled "The Faulkland-Malvinas, a War with No Heroes" at the California State University History Club Symposium.
Javier is a former adjunct faculty at Pasadena City College where he lectured on American history, U.S. government, economics, and contemporary American problems. He has done freelance research for Discovery Channel International and Nickelodeon.
He joined ProCon.org in April 2006 and is currently in charge of Voting Machines ProCon.org, Immigration ProCon.org, and the upcoming death penalty website.

Relic Sun, Researcher
Relic Sun graduated summa cum laude in 2006 from UCLA with a BA in Political Science, concentration in International Relations, and a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures. She had expanded her studies to the Trans-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union in Sweden and Germany and conducted a series of field study visits to political institutions in ten European capitals.
During her undergraduate studies, she interned at the U.S. State Department International Information Programs Bureau, where she published stories describing U.S. foreign policy initiatives. She co-founded and led the student grassroots organization Americans for Informed Democracy UCLA Chapter which was dedicated to creating an open dialogue on pressing international affairs. She initiated and edited the group’s newsletter “What You Don’t Know About Human Trafficking” that she presented to the President of the L.A. Task Force on Human Trafficking & Child Prostitution as the Keynote Speaker of the “Youth Conference on Slavery – Past and Present” in February 2005.
Upon graduating she served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania in 2006 and as a political science research assistant at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) in 2007. She is proficient in English, Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, and Romanian.
Relic joined ProCon.org in August 2007. She is currently in charge of Prostitution ProCon.org, Under God ProCon.org, and the upcoming website on congressional insider trading.

Jodi Young, Researcher
Jodi joined ProCon.org in November, 2006. She received an MA in International Relations from New York University and a BS in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She was involved with the UCLA Political Science Honor Society, the NYU International Relations Club, and she volunteered for Doctors Without Borders. She is currently a member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

Jodi has written research papers covering diverse issues such as democracy in Russia, Haitian dictatorships, job outsourcing, and ethical issues in global affairs.
Jodi has worked in Switzerland, New Zealand, Israel, and dozens of other countries. She joined ProCon.org in November 2006 and is currently in charge of the US-Iraq ProCon.org and the 2008 Election ProCon.org websites.

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	Tracey DeFrancesco, Researcher Tracey Marie DeFrancesco graduated magna cum laude from Pepperdine University with a BA in International Studies (International and Intercultural Communication concentration). As an undergraduate, Tracey interned at CNN and worked for the network at the 2000 Democratic National Convention. Tracey earned a Master's Degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the UCLA School of Public Affairs, with a Counterterrorism and National Security concentration. Her coursework focused on counterterrorism policy, models of deterrence for nuclear terrorism, and decision under uncertainty. She was a teaching assistant for courses in policy analysis, imperfect rationality, and crime control policy. Tracey has worked as a policy analyst and consultant, and, more recently, as a disaster analyst in the field of emergency preparedness. Tracey joined ProCon.org in June 2007. She is currently in charge of ACLU ProCon.org and Medical Marijuana ProCon.org. She is also a contributor to the 2008 Election ProCon.org website.

	Todd Goodman, Researcher Todd graduated from the University of Vermont in 2000 with a BS in Environmental Studies, writing his senior thesis on the development of environmental ethics in the United States and its application in outdoor adventure tourism in Vermont. He went on to receive his MA in International Development from the University of Denver in 2005, with concentrations in socio-political analysis and the Middle East. While in graduate school, Todd interned with the university's Human Rights Advocacy Clinic where he developed a case study of terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Israel. This case study looked at the relationship between international human rights law, humanitarian law, and their application to non-state actors (such as terrorist organizations). Todd also interned with the Geneva Initiative in Tel Aviv, Israel in the winter of 2005. After graduating, Todd moved to Boston to become a researcher and consultant for the Abraham Path Initiative at Harvard University Law School's Program on Negotiations. During his time at Harvard he took a short leave of absence and accepted an internship position with the Conflict Resolution Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He was an analyst for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and armed conflicts and socio-political developments in Uganda. Todd has studied, worked and traveled extensively through Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Europe, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Todd joined ProCon.org in January 2007. He is currently in charge of Israeli-Palestinian ProCon.org and Born Gay ProCon.org.

	Jeffrey Hendricks, Researcher Jeffrey D. Hendricks is a two-time graduate from California State University at Long Beach. As an undergraduate Jeffrey majored in Modern United States History and was recognized on the Presidents Honor list. During his graduate level studies, Jeffrey maintained a 4.0 GPA while earning his Master of Arts in United States History. His main areas of historical interest are the cultural and intellectual aspects of Environmental history, Native American history and the history of social and environmental justice movements in the United States. His Masters Thesis, "Constructing the Panopticon: Perceptions of Wilderness, Methods of Domination and the Colonization of Native America," was published in December, 2006, and deals with how perceptions of wilderness influenced the colonization of North America. Other topics he has researched include the effects of colonization on the Tohono O'odham Nation of Southern Arizona, Witchcraft persecutions in the Colonial U.S., and the Weather Underground - an anti-war organization active during the Vietnam War period. Jeffrey has worked with many organizations including the Save Ward Valley Coalition, Los Angeles and Long Beach Food Not Bombs, the O'odham Solidarity Project, and others. Jeffrey joined ProCon.org in June 2007. He is currently in charge of Euthanasia ProCon.org, Milk ProCon.org, and Felon Voting ProCon.org.

	Javier Inda, Researcher Javier migrated from Argentina in 1989 where he served as a Second Lieutenant of the Argentine Army. He obtained a Masters degree with an emphasis in American History and Latin American Economic History from California State University Los Angeles in 2005. His fields of historical expertise are American slavery, gender, and immigration. He was in the Deans’ Honor List and inducted into Phi Alpha Theta and the History Society. He presented a graduate seminar titled "The Faulkland-Malvinas, a War with No Heroes" at the California State University History Club Symposium. Javier is a former adjunct faculty at Pasadena City College where he lectured on American history, U.S. government, economics, and contemporary American problems. He has done freelance research for Discovery Channel International and Nickelodeon. He joined ProCon.org in April 2006 and is currently in charge of Voting Machines ProCon.org, Immigration ProCon.org, and the upcoming death penalty website.

	Relic Sun, Researcher Relic Sun graduated summa cum laude in 2006 from UCLA with a BA in Political Science, concentration in International Relations, and a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures. She had expanded her studies to the Trans-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union in Sweden and Germany and conducted a series of field study visits to political institutions in ten European capitals. During her undergraduate studies, she interned at the U.S. State Department International Information Programs Bureau, where she published stories describing U.S. foreign policy initiatives. She co-founded and led the student grassroots organization Americans for Informed Democracy UCLA Chapter which was dedicated to creating an open dialogue on pressing international affairs. She initiated and edited the group’s newsletter “What You Don’t Know About Human Trafficking” that she presented to the President of the L.A. Task Force on Human Trafficking & Child Prostitution as the Keynote Speaker of the “Youth Conference on Slavery – Past and Present” in February 2005. Upon graduating she served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania in 2006 and as a political science research assistant at the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) in 2007. She is proficient in English, Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, and Romanian. Relic joined ProCon.org in August 2007. She is currently in charge of Prostitution ProCon.org, Under God ProCon.org, and the upcoming website on congressional insider trading.

	Jodi Young, Researcher Jodi joined ProCon.org in November, 2006. She received an MA in International Relations from New York University and a BS in Political Science from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She was involved with the UCLA Political Science Honor Society, the NYU International Relations Club, and she volunteered for Doctors Without Borders. She is currently a member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Jodi has written research papers covering diverse issues such as democracy in Russia, Haitian dictatorships, job outsourcing, and ethical issues in global affairs. Jodi has worked in Switzerland, New Zealand, Israel, and dozens of other countries. She joined ProCon.org in November 2006 and is currently in charge of the US-Iraq ProCon.org and the 2008 Election ProCon.org websites.