Sean Tan, MPP, is a senior public administration analyst at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. His duties include conducting research into health insurance coverage and access to care in California as well as collaborating with the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) funders and researchers in designing and implementing policy evaluation studies.
Prior to working at UCLA CHPR, Tan worked as an associate specialist at the Housing, Opportunity, and Place (HOPe) Lab at UC Merced focusing on research around social determinants of health such as housing as well as public health initiatives in California’s Central Valley. He had previously served as a David D. Bohnett Policy Fellow for the Mayor’s Office in the City of Los Angeles advancing the Department of Recreation and Parks’ gender equity goals and establishing public-private partnerships to increase park and open space access to communities all across Los Angeles. Tan had also worked for the Public Policy and Government Relations team at Southern California Grantmakers (SCG) — a regional convener for foundations and nonprofits in California. During his time at SCG, he worked on policy issues related to health care, immigration, and homelessness. His policy upbringing stems from years of experience working with immigrant communities through the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.
Tan received his master’s in public policy degree from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and his bachelor's degree in development studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Tan was a fellow of the UC Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) program.
Anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies are widely known to have harmful impacts on mental health, but a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research revealed large disparities in rates of serious psychological distress across immigrant subgroups in California.