Jilleah Welch is a lecturer and a research associate for the Center for Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Policy at the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs. She received her Ph.D. in economics (2015) and an MBA (2007) from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and industrial engineering (2004) from North Carolina State University.  

Welch’s research interests include education policy, public economics, and environmental policy. In academic research, she has examined the effect of financial aid programs on college choice and student outcomes. In a variety of funded research projects for various government and funding agencies, she has researched topics that span from electric vehicles to the effect of coal activity on local revenues for education.