About 

Ph.D. economist with 12+ years of experience converting GenAI, machine learning, and causal inference into trusted and scalable platforms. Strategic partner to senior leadership in driving AI and science strategy, LLM architecture, and experimentation design that that balance speed with rigor and trust. Proven track record of working cross-functionally, effectively collaborating with product, tech, and engineering teams to drive innovation and achieve strategic goals. Prior experience spans policy consulting and academia, with a proven track record of bridging the gap between theoretical insights and practical application to drive impactful results. Skilled at communicating complex findings to non-technical audiences and translating research into actionable strategies.

Contact Information

• Email: daraleeluca@gmail.com

• LinkedIn

• Google Scholar

Positions       

Head of Advanced Research (2023-present), Senior Economist (2021-2023), Employee Experience & Relations, Amazon

• Lead a multi‑disciplinary and globally distributed science team (data scientists, economists, and behavioral scientists) focused on building scalable, science-backed solutions to measurably improve employee experience for 1M+ frontline workers. My work centers on: (1) productionizing responsible LLM systems with rigorous guardrails and compliance readiness, (2) empowering teams to do more with less through causal inference and evidenced-based resource allocation, and (3) surfacing earlier, actionable risk signals to enable proactive intervention.

Senior Researcher (2019-2020), Researcher (2015-2019), Mathematica Policy Research

• Directed a portfolio of policy research engagements with federal agencies and leading foundations—translating ambiguous health and labor questions into evidence‑based program designs and evaluations that address the needs of economically vulnerable populations. 

Adjunct Lecturer of Public Policy (2019-2020), Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

• Designed and delivered core graduate courses in statistics, empirical methods, and social policy for MPP/MPA cohorts, embedding causal inference (experimental & quasi‑experimental design), R‑based reproducible analysis, and equity-aware program evaluation techniques; coached students on translating results into actionable policy guidance.

• Generated a 25-paper research portfolio in labor, health, and social policy; work cited >1,300 times (Google Scholar) and covered by The New York Times, Washington Post, The Economist, NPR, and Bloomberg.

Assistant Professor (2011-2015), Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia

• Taught undergraduate courses in Law & Economics and Labor Economics, and PhD-level applied econometrics. Supervised PhD and master’s theses plus undergraduate capstone projects.