Shanea Watkins is the Policy Analyst in Empirical Social Studies at The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis.

At the center, Watkins performs social science research in the areas of education, poverty, immigration and family structure. Her recent Heritage research includes the fiscal costs of low-skill households to the U.S. taxpayer and the impact of federal budget resolutions on individual congressional districts.

Before joining Heritage in 2006, Watkins was a research assistant at George Mason University's School of Public Policy. While there, she worked on a research project that was published in November 2006 as part of a briefing report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The report analyzed data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to determine if there is a relationship between the racial composition of schools and minority achievement.

Watkins received a doctorate in public policy from George Mason University in 2007. She also has a master's degree in psychology from East Tennessee State University and a bachelor's degree in psychology and criminal justice at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.

A native of Providence, R.I., Watkins lives in Burke, Va.