MDRC is pleased to announce that Melissa S. Kearney has joined its Board of Directors.

Melissa S. Kearney is the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, where her research focuses on domestic policy issues, especially issues related to social policy, poverty, and inequality. She is also Director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, a scholar affiliate and member of the board of the Notre Dame Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), and a scholar affiliate of the MIT Abdul Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).  

Kearney served as Director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings from 2013-2015 and as Co-Chair of the JPAL State and Local Innovation Initiative from 2015-2018. She holds a BA in Economics from Princeton University and a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

“We are delighted to welcome Melissa to the MDRC Board of Directors,” said MDRC Board Chair Mary Jo Bane. “Her scholarship has made important contributions to policy discussions that align with MDRC’s work, from reducing income inequality to improving public education. MDRC will benefit tremendously from her advice and expertise in the years to come.”

“I am honored to serve on the Board of this wonderful organization,” said Kearney. “I have long been a great admirer of the important work that MDRC does.”

In other Board news, current member Rebecca Blank has been elected Treasurer of the Board while James H. Johnson, Jr., is on a leave of absence. And former U.S. Secretary of Education John King has resigned from the Board to run for Governor of Maryland.