EJ Toppin is a staff researcher at the Othering & Belonging Institute. EJ was originally a summer fellow in 2017, and stayed on through the school year as a graduate student researcher as he pursued his Master's in Public Policy at UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. He had also served as a research assistant for Professor Ian Haney-Lopez. After graduating from the Goldman School in 2018, EJ joined the Institute's California Community Partnerships program, investigating the effects of Proposition 13 and the feasibility and effects of a possible anti-speculation tax, among other things.
As the staff researcher, EJ primarily supports Director john powell in research and in developing his speaking engagements, as well as other writing assignments, journal articles, and other policy research ideas, in addition to his research with CCP. Prior to his graduate studies, EJ worked as a legislative aide on environment, agriculture, and energy issues in the United States Senate. EJ is originally from Hartford, Connecticut and is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2010.
