H. Luke Shaefer, an associate professor at the U-M School of Social Work and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, is the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions. His research on poverty and social welfare policy in the United States has been published in top peer-reviewed academic journals in the fields of public policy, social work, public health, health services research, and history, and has been supported by the National Science Foundation, among other sources. Shaefer has presented his research at the White House and before numerous federal agencies, has testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and has advised a number of the nation’s largest human service organizations as well as numerous community-based agencies. His work has been cited in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Economist, The Atlantic, Vox, and the LA Times, among other media outlets, and he has been featured on such programs as Marketplace and CNBC’s Nightly Business Report. His recent book with Kathryn Edin, $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, was named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2015 by the New York Times Book Review, and won the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, among other awards. Shaefer also serves on the Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity for the state of Michigan.

Check out our presenter Q&A with Luke.