Ivana Wang is a policy analyst at the Milken Institute’s Center for Regional Economics. Her research work focuses on place-based investment, economic development strategies, and workforce development. Prior to the Milken Institute, Wang worked as a research associate at the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Economic Development, where she analyzed regional challenges and strategies to sustain advanced manufacturing in Southern California. She holds a master’s in public administration from USC, where her graduate research included developing national policies on school violence prevention and incentivizing resilient infrastructure technology adoption. Her research interests span a variety of topics connected by systems improvement through program design, evaluation, and behavioral insight. Wang holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University, where she specialized in experimental and industrial-organizational applications.