Biography

A senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, Yannet Lathrop is a passionate advocate for economic and social policies that advance the common good. She joined NELP in 2014, after completing a public policy fellowship under the sponsorship of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Yannet has years of research, policy analysis, and advocacy experience. At NELP, her work focuses on minimum wage, preemption, the impact of automation, and the effects of occupational segregation on youth of color. During her tenure at NELP, Yannet has used her expertise to help advocates throughout the country win minimum wage increases and fight attempts by state legislatures to block localities from pursuing ordinances to lift their wage floors.

Among Yannet’s proudest accomplishments is the instrumental role she played in Alabama in 2015-2016, helping advocates in Birmingham win a minimum wage increase to $10.10—the first in the South—and to fight two preemption attempts by the state legislature. After Alabama approved minimum wage preemption, her research helped plaintiffs prepare a civil rights lawsuit against the state, a case that is still in litigation. She has also helped advance the nationwide call for a $15 minimum wage and played a key role in a contested but ultimately successful campaign to raise the minimum wage in Montgomery County, Maryland to $15 per hour.

Yannet’s expertise is widely recognized. She is regularly invited to give expert testimony before local and state legislative bodies, participate in conferences, and speak to print and broadcast media. Her work has been cited by or appeared in local, national, and international media, including PBS News Hour, National Public Radio, CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She is also periodically invited to participate in Congressional events, including a recent invitation by the office of Senator Bernie Sanders to give brief remarks at the unveiling of the Workplace Democracy Act.

Before joining NELP, Yannet served as policy analyst for the Michigan League for Public Policy and as researcher for the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute of the University of Toronto.

Yannet is a proud member of the NELP Staff Association, NOLSW, UAW, LOCAL 2320. In her spare time, she keeps busy with animal welfare, classical dance, haiku writing, amateur photography, and nature walks.