Poverty / Welfare

To contact these experts, please call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 261-5709
or email publicaffairs@urban.org.

Martin Abravanel, Center on Metropolitan Housing & Communities.

Areas of expertise: Homelessness; federal housing policies and programs; housing needs and market assessments; fair housing; customer satisfaction and program performance measurement.

Martha Burt, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population.

Areas of expertise: Adolescents; domestic violence/violence against women; homelessness; mental health; social services integration.

Linda Giannarelli, Income & Benefits Policy Center.

Areas of expertise: Welfare reform; child care subsidy eligibility; child care expenses; microsimulation; WIC.

Robert Lerman, institute fellow, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population.

Areas of expertise: Welfare reform; poverty; income and wealth distribution; job training; school-to-work initiatives; education and employment; child support/paternity; family structure and composition; unwed fathers.

Signe-Mary McKernan, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population.

Areas of expertise: Access to credit for low-income individuals; micro-credit programs; rent-to-own customers; rural welfare reform; welfare impact on children and families.

Nancy Pindus, Center on Metropolitan Housing & Communities.

Areas of expertise: Health occupations; sectoral employment and economic development; job training; social services integration; performance monitoring; welfare reform; community development, including New Market Tax Credit program; food assistance programs; tribal assistance and economic development.

Sue Popkin, Center on Metropolitan Housing & Communities.

Areas of expertise: Residents of severely distressed public housing; public housing and HOPE VI; Section 8 vouchers and mobility; residential segregation.

Caroline Ratcliffe, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population.

Areas of expertise: Poverty; cash welfare and Food Stamp Program impact on outcomes for children and families; welfare-to-work programs.

Margaret Simms, Low-Income Working Families Project.

Areas of expertise: Civil rights; economics of race and ethnicity; employment and training; income and wealth; low-wage labor markets; minority business development; minority labor markets; poverty; welfare reform.

Margery Turner, vice-president for research.

Areas of expertise: Residential segregation and poverty concentration; housing and mortgage lending discrimination; housing choice and residential mobility; housing needs and market assessments; federal housing policy.

Laura Wheaton, Income & Benefits Policy Center.

Areas of expertise: Child support/parternity; noncustodial fathers; microsimulation.

Doug Wissoker, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population.

Areas of expertise: Poverty; housing, hiring and employment discrimination; civil rights.

Sheila Zedlewski, director, Income & Benefits Policy Center.

Areas of expertise: Poverty; welfare reform; work support programs; food stamp policy; child nutrition programs; engagement of older adults; state spending for low-income populations.