Departments and Research Centers

Poverty Solutions

Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan informs and tests innovative solutions for the prevention and alleviation of poverty, leveraging the immense intellectual assets and academic scope of the university to make a major impact on the lives of milli

Showing 1 - 30 of 311 results
Research faculty

Mara Ostfeld

Associate Faculty Director, Poverty Solutions; Research Director, Center for Racial Justice; Assistant Research Scientist, Ford School; Faculty Associate, Center for Political Studies
Dr. Mara Cecilia Ostfeld is the associate faculty director of Poverty Solutions, the research director at the Center for Racial Justice, and an assistant research scientist in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. In…
Faculty by courtesy

Christina Weiland

Co-director, Education Policy Initiative; Associate Professor of Education
Christina Weiland is an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Education and Ford School of Public Policy (by courtesy), where she is affiliated with the Educational Studies department, the Combined Program in Psychology and…
Core faculty

Elisabeth R. Gerber

Jack L. Walker, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy
Gerber’s research focuses on regionalism and intergovernmental cooperation, sustainable development, urban climate adaptation, transportation policy, community and economic development, local fiscal capacity, and local political accountability.
Core faculty

Paula Lantz

James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy; Director, BA Programs
A social demographer, Lantz studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. She is currently engaged in research regarding innovative financing approaches for supportive housing among Medicaid beneficiaries, and also on how COVID-19 is exacerbating existing social and health inequalities in the U.S.
Core faculty

Ann Chih Lin

Associate Professor of Public Policy; Director, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies
Lin, a political scientist, studies how people experience policy implementation. Her current work examines racial and ethnic difference in the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic; bias reduction against Muslims; national security scapegoating of immigrant groups; conservatism among immigrants; and subnational labor migration policy.
Core faculty

Shobita Parthasarathy

Professor of Public Policy; Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy program
Parthasarathy studies the governance of emerging science and technology and the politics of evidence and expertise in policy in comparative and international perspective. Her current research focuses on equity in innovation and innovation policy. She co-hosts The Received Wisdom podcast.
Core faculty

Natasha Pilkauskas

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Pilkauskas is a social demographer who studies the social safety net, children's living arrangements, and economic insecurity. Pilkauskas' work considers how social policy might improve the developmental and life trajectories of children living in poverty.
Core faculty

Luke Shaefer

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work
Shaefer is associate dean for academic affairs. He serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.
Core faculty

Megan Tompkins-Stange

Associate Professor of Public Policy
Tompkins-Stange is a scholar of education policy and philanthropy, focusing on the influence of private foundations on the politics of K-12 school reform.
Core faculty

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Dean; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research & Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative
Watkins-Hayes is an internationally-recognized scholar and expert on HIV/AIDS; urban poverty; social policy; and racial, class, and gender inequality. Her work illuminates social problems of great interest to scholars, communities, and policymakers. She works at the intersection of sociology, African American Studies, and public policy. Her work analyzes the impact of the HIV epidemic on women and the growth of the HIV safety net.
Staff

Trevor Bechtel

Student Engagement & Strategic Projects Manager, Poverty Solutions
Trevor Bechtel is the student engagement and strategic projects manager for Poverty Solutions. Bechtel provides leadership and oversight to several Washtenaw County research projects, including the Prosecutor Transparency Project, and he engages…
Staff

Benjamin Docter

Data and Policy Analyst, Poverty Solutions
Benny Docter is a data and policy analyst for Poverty…
Staff

Kathleen Hurley

SummerWorks Program Fellow, Poverty Solutions
Kathleen Hurley is a SummerWorks program fellow with Poverty Solutions and primarily based at Michigan Works! Southeast. In this role, Kathleen supports implementation and expansion of SummerWorks, Washtenaw County's Summer Youth Employment…
Staff

Karissa Knapp

Communications Specialist, Poverty Solutions
Karissa Knapp is a communications specialist at Poverty…
Staff

Armeka A. Richey

U-M SummerWorks Program Coordinator, Poverty Solutions
Armeka Richey is the U-M SummerWorks program coordinator for Poverty Solutions. She previously served as the administrative assistant for Poverty Solutions, where she supported the day-to-day work of the faculty director and provided administrative…
Staff

Lauren B. Slagter

Senior Communications Specialist, Poverty Solutions
Lauren Slagter is a senior communications specialist at Poverty Solutions, sharing the impact of the initiative’s research with members of the media and the public. Previously, Slagter spent eight years as a daily news reporter, primarily covering…
Staff

Julia Weinert

Managing Director, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
In the Media

Shaefer: Child poverty "plummets" with cash transfer programs

May 22, 2023 WDET Detroit Today
Luke Shaefer, WDET Detroit Today: Country and after country, when they apply this cash transfer scheme -- raising kids is expensive and so society has a reason to come alongside parents in that work -- child poverty...
News

Shaefer's Flint collaboration making news

May 12, 2023
A new program that will grant Flint families with new babies $7,500 has been making the news, as it addresses "one of the most fundamental social determinants of health: poverty." The program, Rx Kids, received an initial grant of $15 million from...
In the Media

Branche-Wilson on the need for businesses to accept cash

Apr 18, 2023 Crain's Detroit Business
Afton Branche-Wilson, assistant director of community initiatives for Poverty Solutions, Crain's Detroit Business: “From a business perspective, you want a customer base as wide and diverse as possible. To say you only want folks who keep money in a...