Harold R. Johnson Collegiate Professor
University of Michigan
Dr. Trina Shanks is a professor and director of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being, asset-building policies, and community economic development. She leads the School’s ENGAGE team, advancing community engagement and social justice initiatives.
Shanks has been a research investigator for the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) demonstration and advises several child savings account programs, including one in Lansing Public Schools. She has also evaluated Detroit’s Summer Youth Employment Program and worked with the Good Neighborhoods Initiative for over a decade.
From 2010 to 2012, Shanks served on the Michigan State Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity. She is a national co-lead for the Social Work Grand Challenge on Reversing Extreme Economic Inequality and a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute. She is also President of BARS.
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