Our Team

Dr. You oversees the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) Population Estimates and Projections program and represents the State Demographer in public engagements. Dr. You is the senior demographer and lead in developing the population estimates and projections for the State of Texas, counties, and cities. Her expertise spans a wide range of topics, including population projections and estimates, migration, fertility, mortality, health, and healthcare in Texas. Dr. You's experience and excellence are widely recognized in the demographic research community. She presides as the Research and Methodology Subcommittee chair of the Census Bureau's Federal-State Cooperative and serves on the Steering Committee. To help improve the quality of the Census products, Dr. You presented the results of analyses of the impact of the Differential Privacy implemented in the 2020 Census at the Public Workshop on the Demographic and Housing Characteristics Files hosted by the National Academies. Additionally, Dr. You is a member of the Board of Directors of the Southern Demographic Association. Beyond her advanced research work, she is dedicated to public education and disseminating demographic knowledge. Dr. You has also been selected to the Decennial Census Data Users Group (Decennial DUG) Steering Committee. She leads key TDC projects such as the Population Estimates for Texas, the Educational Attainment Projections of the Texas Labor Force, Diabetes Projections, and the Projections of the Uninsured in Texas.

Dr. Jordan provides project management, data, programming, GIS, and subject matter expertise for the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER) and the Texas Demographic Center (TDC). For over 20 years, he has been involved in numerous research projects investigating the relationship between demography and socioeconomic issues in Texas, including transportation, energy, labor force, education, criminal justice, and social services. Dr. Jordan has supported the TDC and the State of Texas through three Decennial Censuses. He has collaborated on many Census Bureau projects, including the Housing Unit Count Review, the Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for modifying statistical area boundaries, and Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA) boundary delineation. Previously, he worked at the Public Policy Research Institute and the Texas State Data Center at Texas A&M University, where he was involved in several research projects addressing demographic and social service issues topics.

Dr. Cruz serves as a legislative liaison with the Texas legislature and supports the data needs of the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) network of statewide and local affiliates. She serves on national steering committees for the U.S. Census Bureau’s Stata Data Center network and the American Community Survey Data Users Group. She has also assisted with survey and qualitative research for the Texas Department of Transportation and community assessments for various Head Start organizations. Dr. Cruz’s research interests include housing, economic development, poverty, and employment. She has worked as a legislative aide for the Texas Senate, as a program director for the City of San Antonio, and as a policy analyst and researcher with other non-profit organizations. Before joining the TDC staff, Dr. Cruz was an administrator for higher education civic engagement and taught courses in public policy, Texas government, and American Politics.

Dr. Po-Chun Huang brings over 10 years of expertise in demographic research, supporting the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER) at UTSA. As a project manager, Dr. Huang oversees a multi-year contract with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for demographic data analysis and leads several contracts producing community needs assessments for Head Start programs, including those managed by the City of San Antonio Department of Human Services, AVANCE-San Antonio, South San Antonio ISD, and Upbring. He has also contributed to the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) by assisting the U.S. Census Bureau in delineating the 2020 Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) boundaries for the state of Texas and managed an IDSER project administering surveys for San Antonio Metro Health and the Bexar County Health Collaborative. Before joining IDSER, Dr. Huang held roles at the California Department of Finance and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, further honing his expertise in applied demographic research.

Dr. Uddin supports the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER) in applied geospatial analysis, spatial modeling, econometric modeling, socioeconomic data analysis, and the application of urban planning tools and techniques. His research interests revolve around integrating spatial and socioeconomic factors in environmental, urban, and transportation studies. Dr. Uddin develops demographic inputs at the traffic analysis zone level for MPO travel demand models and analyzes socioeconomic and demographic data for community needs assessment of various Head Start programs in Texas. He has conducted several investigations regarding utilizing nighttime light data for population estimation and regional rental housing affordability assessment in Texas as a part of IDSER’s in-house research efforts and as an exploration of external research grants. Before joining IDSER, he gained experience in academia and industry.

Dr. Kim is a key contributor to the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) Population Estimates and Projections program. As an applied demographer with extensive experience in both industry and academic research, he focuses on integrating population forecasting methods with machine learning algorithms. His research interests include low fertility and aging in economically developed countries. Previously, Dr. Kim was a postdoctoral fellow at UT Health, investigating social risk factors contributing to health disparities. Additionally, he possesses expertise in vision-based musculoskeletal health services using machine learning techniques and has professional experience in fixed-income investment within national pension funds of South Korea.

Dr. Rajput supports the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER) and the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) through applied geography and GIS. Her work includes projects with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), designing and implementing web-based mapping and data delivery applications. She also creates interactive web mapping applications for the TDC website. Dr. Rajput has over 15 years of experience working on geospatial projects, including previous employment at the City of Austin, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and working with LiDAR data for a survey and a mapping company in Austin.

Ms. Geppert has over 10 years of experience coordinating quantitative and qualitative research projects in the public and private sectors. Currently, she coordinates both interagency cooperation contracts between the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER), UTSA, and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), as well as sponsored research cooperation contracts. Ms. Geppert also provides essential support in developing and managing grant proposals. Previously, she worked for the Hessian Statistical State Office and Simon-Kucher & Partners, a global consultancy firm.

Ms. Alvarez coordinates data collection within the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) Population Estimates and Projections Program and assists with responding to data requests received by the TDC. She has experience working in the public sector on research projects and municipal initiatives covering topics including environmental policy and immigration.

Ms. Leon is responsible for the communication and marketing needs of the Texas Demographic Center and the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. She works closely with the research team to create and produce infographics, monthly newsletters, social media, website design, and more. Previously, Ms. Leon worked as a graphic designer with a private firm.

Mrs. Espinoza provides critical administrative support to the Texas Demographic Center (TDC) and the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research (IDSER). She oversees clerical tasks, manages administrative functions, provides budgetary oversight, and assists in the Center and Institute's day-to-day operations.