Corruption
Faculty Research Director
Project Team Leads
Regina Cruz, Augustine D’Eramo, Maeve Geary, and Adrian Pitts
The corruption team continues its eight-year project on measuring corruption using local government audits. To date, the team has cleaned, collected, and analyzed local government audit data from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and India. The data help overcome some substantial challenges with corruption scholarship, which derives most of its insights from problematic perceptions data. This year, the team will continue its efforts to clean audit data from the Philippines. Participants on the team can expect to learn about how corruption manifests in the developing world and how to accurately measure it.
Project Team Co-Leads
Maeve Geary
IPD Project Team Leader
International Relations and Global Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
maevegeary2002@gmail.com
Maeve Geary is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s in International Relations and Global Studies and a minor in French. She is one of the co-Team Leads for the Corruption Team and she previously held a position as a research assistant on the Government Responsiveness team. Outside of IPD, she serves as the social chair for the International Relations and Global Studies Council. After her time at UT, Maeve plans to attend graduate school to study international affairs and economics.
Augustine D'Eramo
IPD Project Team Leader
International Relations and Global Studies | Plan II
The University of Texas at Austin
aderamo01@gmail.com
Augustine D’Eramo is a fourth year student from Tyler, TX. He is pursuing a bachelors in International Relations and Global Studies and Plan II Honors as well as a certificate in Business Spanish. He is a co-Team Leader of the Corruption team. Aside from contributing to the project deliverables and training new members, he helps to ensure that the team’s key results are reached in an accurate and timely manner. During his final year of undergraduate studies at UT, he plans to apply for the Peace Corps and different graduate programs in foreign policy and public affairs.
Regina Cruz
IPD Project Team Leader
International Relations and Global Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
re2002@utexas.edu
Regina Cruz is a third-year undergraduate student at UT Austin. She is in the Liberal Arts Honors Program majoring in International Relations and Global Studies, and Race, Indigeneity, and Migration with a minor in History. Her research interests include humanitarian aid, Latin American affairs, human rights, and migration. She is the Corruption team co-leader, and will be joining the Refugee Housing team as a research assistant. Regina hopes to attend law school to learn about international law and become an immigration attorney.
Adrian Pitts
IPD Project Team Leader
Sociology
The University of Texas at Austin
adrianpitts@utexas.edu
Adrian Pitts is a fourth-year undergraduate from Nacogdoches, TX. A co-lead of the IPD Corruption team, he is pursuing a B.A. in Sociology with minors in Architectural Studies and Chinese. He is involved with several research projects throughout the Department of Sociology and the LBJ School of Public Affairs and plans to pursue graduate work in the social sciences.
Team Members
Gera Campos
Research Assistant
Geraldyn “Gera” Campos (she/her) is a third-year student from San Antonio, TX, double majoring in Government and International Relations and Global Studies. Gera joined the Latin American Corruption team as a research assistant in the spring of 2023, where she examines Honduran municipality audits and measures the extent to which municipal city members misuse public office for personal gain. Furthermore, her involvement in IPD led her to a summer internship at the Toulouse School of Economics in Toulouse, France, which enabled her to refine her coding skills and deepen her comprehension of governmental corruption. Gera’s passion for civic engagement and advocacy has fueled her post-grad goals to work for NGOs dedicated to addressing human rights and international conflicts.
Camila Aguilar
Research Assistant
Camila Aguilar is a third-year student from Rowlett, TX. She is in the Liberal Arts Honors Program at UT Austin pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Global Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy of Language. At the moment she is a research assistant for the corruption team and her research interests include linguistic policy and cultural heritage protection. In the future, she wishes to attend law school to study Cultural Property Law or Art and Culture Law.
Diana Geng
Research Assistant
Diana Geng is a junior student at UT Austin from Lima, Peru. She is pursuing a bachelor of science in economics and a bachelor of Arts in Government with a certificate in elements of computing. She is part of the corruption team at IPD. She is working on a paper about the colonial descriptions of the aqllawasi and the position of the Inca religious women. In the future, Diana would like to go into private banking, focusing on the compliance aspect of it.
Sofia Gonzalez
Research Assistant
Sofia Gonzalez is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Policy Fellow with the FACT Coalition in Washington DC. Passionate about economic justice and transparency, she majored in International Relations and minored in Anthropology. She recently completed internships with the US Department of State, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, NuStar, as well as an international law firm. Recently, Sofia has published an environmental crime and illicit financial flows report with the FACT Coalition and spoke at an environmental crime conference in the Peruvian Amazon, as well as on the GATJ and TJNA panel on gender inclusive tax policies. She looks forward to attending law school with a masters in public policy in the coming years and continuing her work towards helping end corrupt financial practices.
Benjamin Aguillon
Research Assistant
Benjamin Aguillon is a second year student from San Antonio, TX. He is currently pursuing a bachelors in Government, Philosophy, and Plan II Honors as well as a certificate in Business Spanish. He is a member of the IPD’s Team on Corruption as well as part of the communications team. Outside of IPD, he is also a member of Student Government and the Undergraduate Linguistics Society. After his time at UT, Ben plans to go on to law school, and practice either tenant or immigration law.
Alayna Parlevliet
Research Assistant
Alayna Parlevliet is a Sophomore majoring in Plan II, International Relations and Global Studies, and History while pursuing a Spanish Business Certificate. Alayna serves as a Near-Peer for the Clark Center, Volunteer Chair for the Plan II Student Association, and she mentors students as a counselor for Ignite Texas. She is also a part of Global Impact Initiative by tutoring refugee students K-12 in the Austin area. Outside of academics, Alayna loves dancing for Dance Action and attending concerts hosted by the UT Symphony Orchestra.
Gavin Harris
Research Assistant
Gavin Harris is a second-year student from Brooklyn, NY. He is majoring in International Relations and Global Studies as well as Plan II, with minors in Core Texts and Ideas and Computer Science. He is interested in Asian Studies, and worked on the Peacebuilding project last year at IPD. This year he works on the Corruption project. He hopes to work in government and is interested in the Peace Corps after graduation.
Amanda Quiñonez
Research Assistant
Amanda Quiñonez is a Junior at The University of Texas at Austin double majoring in International Relations and Global Studies (IRG) and the Plan II Honors Program. Additionally, she is pursuing minors in Business and Economics, and a certificate in Business Spanish. This past summer she spent two weeks in Washington DC being immersed in the field of intelligence and national security as part of the Texas Intelligence Academy. Her school activities include the IRG Council, the Clements Center Undergraduate Fellows, and her sorority. She has also gained professional experience in the fields of criminal defense and property law. After her undergraduate studies, she hopes to continue her education at a law school with a dual degree program, achieving a JD and a Masters in a Global Studies discipline.
Alicia Flores
Research Assistant
Alicia Flores is a third-year undergraduate student from Corpus Christi, Texas. She is pursuing a bachelor’s in International Relations and Global Studies as well as a certificate in Business Spanish. Her research interests include Latin American affairs, US foreign policy, and human rights. After graduation, she hopes to continue to conduct research and work abroad in Latin America. Alicia’s hobbies include working out, exploring Austin, and traveling.
Alexander Guerrero
Research Assistant
Alexander Guerrero is a first-year undergraduate student pursuing a BA in Economics. He is interested in the monetary processes behind corruption and is interested in reasearching effective ways to prevent corruption. He is on the team researching corruption in UT Austin’s IPD Lab and hopes to publish an analysis related to corruption in “The Developing Economist”. He hopes to enter into the field of Forensic Accounting through the MPA program offered by the McCombs School of Business in order to further his efforts to recognize and prevent corruption.
Emily Souksan
Research Assistant
Emily Souksan is a first-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in International Relations and Global Studies and French with a minor in International Business and National Security. She is a research assistant on the Corruption Team. Outside of IPD, she is on the outreach committee for the International Relations and Global Studies Council, and is involved in Texas Rock Climbing Club. After her undergraduate studies, Emily plans on applying to graduate school to further her studies in foreign policy and international affairs.
Aidan Vu
Research Assistant
Aidan Vu is a first-year undergraduate pursuing a bachelor’s in International Relations and Global Studies on track with the Liberal Arts Honors (or Plan I) Program. He is a new member of the Corruption Team. Outside of IPD, he is part of UT Austin’s Senate of College Councils, Student Government, and Sparks Magazine. He is currently the Texas state lead for Voters of Tomorrow and a tech fellow with Asian Youth Act that actively engages in forging partnerships with Asian American organizations across multiple cities in North America. After his time at UT, Aidan plans to attend law school to focus on immigration law.