Rate My Professor Erin Vernon

Erin Vernon, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University, where she teaches economics courses across undergraduate, graduate, Bridge MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA, Online MBA, and Honors programs. Her primary area of research and specialization is health economics, focusing on end-of-life care, palliative care, hospice services, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, telehealth applications, caregiver policies, and health policy interventions. She earned her PhD and MA in Economics from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Business Administration with dual majors in Finance and Computer Applications, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. Prior to her full-time faculty role at Seattle University, where she began as an instructor in 2009, advanced to Assistant Professor in 2015, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021, Dr. Vernon served as an Applications Analyst at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. (1997-1999), Program Manager at TheHungerSite.com (1999-2000), and Manager of Planning and Control at Quick Start Shared Services (2001-2003), developing financial models for startups. She also worked as an Independent Research Consultant (2010-2015) for clients including The Clarius Group and Oxbow Farm, and taught at Bellevue College and the University of Washington.

Dr. Vernon has received several honors, including the Patricia Wismer Professorship for Gender and Diversity Studies (2025-2027), Eva Albers Professorship (2022-2025), Seattle University Summer Faculty Fellowship (2020), Albers Faculty-Student Research Collaboration Award (2021), Grantee from the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging (2021), Jesuit Mission Fellow (2017), and the University of Washington’s Stephen Langton Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2007). Her scholarship appears in leading journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Age & Ageing, Journal of Public Health Policy, Journal of the American College of Radiology, BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, Annals of Palliative Medicine, Health Education Journal, Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, and Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. Notable publications include “Caregiver policies in the United States: a systematic review” (Journal of Public Health Policy, 2024), “The effectiveness of community-based palliative care program components: A systematic review” (Age & Ageing, 2023), “Measuring effectiveness in community-based palliative care programs: A systematic review” (Social Science & Medicine, 2022), and “US hospices’ approach to racial/ethnic minority inclusion: a qualitative study” (BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 2021). She has led national seminars on topics including the economics of the US medical care system, childhood nutrition, racial/ethnic healthcare disparities, and genetic screening, contributing to evidence-based policy discussions on equitable healthcare access.