Welcome to my website! My name is Zachary Lorico Hertz and I am a political science researcher with experience in social science research, political consulting, and data analysis. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student studying political science at UC Berkeley. I received a Master of Arts with a concentration in Quantitative Methods and Social Analysis from the University of Chicago in 2022, and previously graduated from Tufts University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science focusing on American Politics. In my other coursework, I studied the intersection of philosophy and public policy through the program in Ethics, Law and Society. Click here to view my CV.

I am broadly interested in the mechanisms through which people form and utilize political power in the United States, as well as the historical racial disparities in electoral participation. I also study public opinion and survey methodology. Generally, I aim to examine mass political behavior through a quantitative analytical lens. In current ongoing research, I am combining voter data and census data to analyze city council turnout on the district level.

In addition to my academic research, I have done independent political consulting for Groundwork Project, Data for Progress, and independent clients. Most recently, I worked as a Polling Analyst at Data for Progress, where I designed and fielded surveys for clients, primarily as part of the electoral team, and worked on methodological project seeking to understand candidate quality and survey accuracy. Previously, I was the Chapter Organizing Fellow at Scholars Strategy Network, where I helped build communities of scholars nationally and connect researchers with legislators and journalists to inform local policy. I also worked as Student Outreach Coordinator at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, where I coordinated JumboVote, the university-wide voter registration and GOTV initiative. At Tisch, I also assisted with publishing reports at the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education.

While much of my time is devoted to reading, writing, or coding, I enjoy hiking, quiz bowl, and both performing and producing music in my spare time. Send me an email and let’s talk more!