Biography
Sierra Davis Thomander is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University–Hawaii. Previously, she held a research assistantship at the Hoover Institution’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions and was an adjunct professor of political science at Menlo College. She completed her PhD in Political Science at Stanford University in 2026, her MA in Political Science at Stanford University in 2022, and her BA in Political Science with a minor in Africana Studies in 2017 at Brigham Young University. Prior to graduate school, she worked at Qualtrics as a project manager and research specialist from 2018 to 2020.
Her primary research interests are the political pipeline for women candidates and the institutional factors underlying women’s underrepresentation. Her work largely focuses on local and state elections and party primaries. Other research interests include public opinion on key election issues such as mail-in voting, external validity in survey experiments, and promoting good questionnaire design.
Sierra is originally from Burley, Idaho, where she met her husband, Zachary Thomander, who is a CPA and owner of Bay Are Tax. They have two daughters, Matisse and Violet. Their hobbies include dancing, training for the yearly Idaho Spudman triathlon, exploring nature, and creating family Halloween costumes.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Political Science, August 2026, Stanford University
- Master of Arts (MA), Political Science March 2022, Stanford University
- Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science, cum laude, April 2017, Brigham Young University
- Minor: African Studies, Global Development Certificate
Academic Employment
- Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University – Hawaii (August 2026 – Present)
- Adjunct Faculty, Menlo College (August 2025 – December 2025)
- Research Assistant, Hoover Institution’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, Stanford University (September 2025 – June 2026)
- Survey Lab Manager, Laboratory for the Study of American Values, Stanford Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (September 2024 – June 2025)
Professional Experience
- Senior Research Specialist & Project Manager, Qualtrics (January 2018 – July 2020)
CV Last Revised August 2026