Policy Topics

Detroit

Detroit

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Showing 1 - 30 of 33 results

Margaret Dewar

Professor Emerita of Urban Planning, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
[email protected]
734-763-2528
Margaret Dewar’s research is in the broad areas of economic development, housing and community development, urban environmental planning and urban land use. Her current projects address remaking cities following abandonment and strengthening deterior...
Margaret Dewar headshot
Staff

Leonymae Aumentado

Senior Project Manager
Leonymae Aumentado is a senior project manager at Poverty Solutions, where she supports various research and strategic projects, including the Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor pilot program and the Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide and lead-safe ...
Aumentado Headshot
Staff

John Bulat

Data and Policy Analyst
John Bulat is a data and policy analyst at Poverty Solutions. His work focuses primarily on the opioid crisis in Michigan and criminal justice-related topics. Prior to working at Poverty Solutions, Bulat spent eight years at the Center for Urban Stu...
John Bulat
Staff

Jennifer Erb-Downward

Director of Housing Stability Programs and Policy Initiatives
Jennifer Erb-Downward is the director of housing stability programs and policy initiatives at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. Her work focuses on the intersection of housing, health, and education with an emphasis on cross-system col...
Jennifer Erb-Downward
Faculty Directors

Kristin Seefeldt

Faculty Director of Poverty Solutions; Associate Professor of Social Work; Associate Professor of Public Policy; Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research
[email protected]
734-615-2113
Kristin S. Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well-being. Her most recent book, "Abandoned Families: Social Isolation ...
Kristin Seefeldt
Staff

Sam Stragand

Senior Program Manager, Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility
Sam Stragand is the senior program manager for the Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility at Poverty Solutions, where he works with community partners to conduct research and evaluation projects in Detroit. Prior to joining Poverty Solutions, Strag...
Sam Stragand
Faculty Affiliates

Lan Deng

Professor of Urban Planning
[email protected]
734-936-0951
Lan Deng is an expert on affordable housing policies and affordable housing finance and has conducted extensive research in this area. Her research spans between the U.S. and China. In the U.S., Deng is a leading scholar in the research on the Low-In...
Lan Deng
Faculty Affiliates

Lex Eisenberg

Lecturer, Health Behavior and Health Equity, School of Public Health
[email protected]
Lex Eisenberg is an educator, researcher, and organizer based in Detroit whose work integrates community-based knowledge and mixed methods to understand how policy implementation and enforcement impacts housing, health, and racial equity. Their resea...
Photo of Lex Eisenberg
Faculty Affiliates

Terri Friedline

Professor of Social Work
Terri Friedline is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, faculty director within the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion, and research fellow at New America in Washington, DC. She conducts research to envision, redef...
Photo of Terri Friedline
Faculty Affiliates

Elisabeth Gerber

Jack L. Walker Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; Professor of Political Science (by courtesy), and Research Associate at the Center for Political Studies
Elisabeth Gerber’s poverty-related research focuses on urban, regional and metropolitan policy especially in the areas of: transportation and water policy; climate adaptation; and community, workforce, and economic development. Gerber is co-PI of the...
Elisabeth Gerber
Faculty Affiliates

Jeffrey Morenoff

Professor of Public Policy; Professor of Sociology; Research Professor, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research; Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement
Jeffrey Morenoff is a Professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Department of Sociology, and Research Professor in the Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center. He also serves as Associate Dean for Research and Polic...
Photo of Jeffrey Morenoff
Faculty Affiliates

Mara Ostfeld

Research Director, Center for Racial Justice; Faculty Lead, Detroit Metro Area Communities Study; Research Associate, Center for Political Studies
Mara Cecilia Ostfeld, PhD, serves as the research director at the Center for Racial Justice, a research associate with the Center for Political Studies, and an associate research scientist in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Mich...
Mara Cecilia Ostfeld
Faculty Affiliates

Tony Reames

Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice; Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability
Tony Reames conducts research in the emerging field of energy justice, which investigates fair and equitable access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy technology. His research employs energy analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), and ...
Photo of Tony Reames
Faculty Affiliates

Natalie Sampson

Professor of Health and Human Services; Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Equity; UM-Dearborn
Natalie Sampson conducts community-based research to study social and physical environments and their effects on health inequities. To this end, she works to bring interdisciplinary evidence to climate change, land use, and infrastructure planning ef...
Photo of Natalie Sampson
Faculty Affiliates

Trina Shanks

Director, School of Social Work Community Engagement; Harol R. Johnson Collegiate Professor of Social Work; and Faculty Associate, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Trina Shanks' research interests include the impact of poverty and wealth on child well-being; asset-building policy and practice across the life cycle; and community and economic development. She has been a research investigator for the Saving for E...
Trina Shanks
In the Media

Double the Danger – Firearm Violence Among Latinos

Jul 21, 2026 El Central Hispanic News
Detroit has seen an historic decline in non-fatal shootings in recent years. However, from 2018 to 2021, firearm homicide rates among Hispanics rose 48%, compared to a 22% increase for white non-Hispanics.
Sam Stragand
News Release

Poverty Solutions awarded Engage Detroit grant

Apr 21, 2026
Now in its fifth year of funding, the 2026 Engage Detroit Workshops grant program has selected seven projects for awards. The program supports small teams of U-M faculty, staff, students, and community partners in organizing workshops that strengthen...
A group gathers at a screening for a mini-documentary on youth homelessness in Detroit produced by Poverty Solutions and the Detroit Phoenix Center