Angela Hawken is Professor and Vice Dean for Research at the Johns Hopkins School of Government and Policy. She helps governments solve complex public problems by combining research, product development, and implementation.

Her work spans criminal justice, education, cities, and public management, where she partners with government agencies to design, build, and evaluate practical solutions. In addition to conducting research, she develops products—including software and decision-support tools—that help governments make better decisions and improve public services.

Hawken’s research focuses on how governments learn: how they identify problems, test solutions, build organizational capability, and translate evidence into sustained improvements. Her current work also explores how artificial intelligence can strengthen public institutions by improving decision-making, reducing administrative burden, and expanding governments’ capacity to solve problems.

Before joining Johns Hopkins, Hawken was Professor of Public Policy at New York University, where she directed the NYU Marron Institute, leading interdisciplinary teams working with governments across the United States and internationally. As Vice Dean for Research, she is helping build a research enterprise that values not only scholarly discovery, but also the creation of practical tools and partnerships that enable governments to tackle society’s most pressing challenges.