Sara Heller

Associate Professor of Economics

734-764-0241 [email protected]

Sara Heller studies interventions to reduce crime and improve other life outcomes among disadvantaged youth. She uses large-scale experiments to isolate the causal effects of a variety of programs, including cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions and summer jobs.

Ph.D. University of Chicago, M.P.P. Georgetown University, B.A. Harvard University

In the Media
Washtenaw Business Lens: SummerWorks offers local youth more than just a summer job
Jul 21, 2026 WEMU
We're talking youth employment with Kathleen Clancey from SummerWorks and Andy LaBarre from the A2Y Regional Chamber.
In the Media
Report finds Medicaid improved health and employment in Michigan
Jun 22, 2026 Big News Network
A new report from the University of Michigan showed the Healthy Michigan Plan improved health care access, health outcomes and financial stability for low-income adults enrolled in the state’s Medicaid expansion program.
News Release
No Strings art exhibit explores personal impact of guaranteed income
Apr 30, 2026
A new traveling art exhibit called No Strings, curated by University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, showcases art by six U-M students that illustrates quotes from participants in the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) pilot program.
Feature
Poverty Solutions RA convenes peers for hands-on workshop to redesign government services
Apr 13, 2026
50 students, staff, and faculty from 10 different schools and colleges came together for a workshop led by Public Policy Lab (PPL), titled "Transforming Government Services with Human-Centered Design."
In the Media
Hillary Clinton: How to Fix Affordability
Apr 9, 2026 New York Times
American families are raising children now, in an economy where both parents work to make ends meet and child care costs rival rent, in a country with no national paid leave and in a digital world they cannot control. Instead of lectures, families ne...

Detroit’s Rapid Rehousing Program Designed By Youth, For Youth
Jan 28, 2025 0:12:03
Every year, an estimated 1 in 10 youth between the ages of 18 and 25 experience homelessness in the U.S. A new rapid rehousing program in Detroit – designed by youth, for youth – is providing housing and wraparound services for young adults. Detroit ...

Funded faculty research
Helping Low-Wage Workers Find Better Jobs: Skills-First Matching and Job-Quality Nudges

January 2026
|
Anant Nyshadham

A new randomized controlled trial will work with 1,500 low-wage workers across select metropolitan areas to layer job-quality signals on an AI-assisted job matching platform.
Core project
Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor

January 2024 - December 2025
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Kristin S. Seefeldt, William D. Lopez, Rebeccah Sokol, Leonymae Aumentado, Francisco Brady, Lauren Slagter

Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GIG A2) was a two-year pilot that provided monthly payments of $528 to 100 Ann Arbor entrepreneurs and gig workers with low incomes, from January 2024 through December 2025. Another 100 people from the eligible applicant pool participated in a randomized controlled trial, without receiving the monthly payments.
Funded faculty research
An Initial Study of WorkChat Acceptability, Feasibility, and Efficacy Among Individuals with Psychosis Spectrum Disorders

January 2024 - December 2024

The purpose of this project is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, usability, and impact of WorkChat: A Virtual Workday as an intervention to support income growth through sustained employment for adults with psychosis spectrum disorders.
Funded faculty research, Core project
Monthly U.S. Labor Market Analysis

September 2022 - May 2023
|
Betsey Stevenson

Using monthly data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U-M’s Rapid Insights Jobs Report analysis provides key charts and findings that highlight new developments in the labor market.
Funded faculty research
The Effect of Letters of Recommendation in the Youth Labor Market

January 2022 - December 2022
|
Sara Heller

This project worked with a volunteer software development group, Code4Community at Northeastern University, to develop a freely-available, user-friendly version of the letter-generation tool that will be distributed to youth development and job training programs.

Sara Heller

News

Washtenaw Business Lens: SummerWorks offers local youth more than just a summer job

Report finds Medicaid improved health and employment in Michigan

No Strings art exhibit explores personal impact of guaranteed income

Poverty Solutions RA convenes peers for hands-on workshop to redesign government services

Hillary Clinton: How to Fix Affordability

Videos

Detroit’s Rapid Rehousing Program Designed By Youth, For Youth

Helping Low-Wage Workers Find Better Jobs: Skills-First Matching and Job-Quality Nudges

Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor

An Initial Study of WorkChat Acceptability, Feasibility, and Efficacy Among Individuals with Psychosis Spectrum Disorders

Monthly U.S. Labor Market Analysis

The Effect of Letters of Recommendation in the Youth Labor Market

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