Emma FlanaganGraduate Studentshe/her/hers

I am a PhD student in Human Development & Family Studies, and I research the social safety net and families’ experiences navigating income support programs. I hope to uplift the voices of families in my research, centering the perspectives of marginalized groups in an effort to create policy change. I conduct qualitative research with the Baby’s First Years project, and I have also recently worked with organizations such as the Urban Institute and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. I also collaborate with community-based organizations in my research.

I graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and minors in public health, biology, and urban poverty studies. As an undergraduate, I gained invaluable research experience working with the Readers 2 Leaders program, a peer-mentoring, reading partnership designed to create connections and empower students.

Prior to beginning my PhD at the School of Human Ecology, I served as an AmeriCorps member in Missoula, Montana, with Family Promise – Missoula Interfaith Collaborative. I worked as a housing navigator, creating relationships with families and connecting them to resources in an effort to secure stable housing.

I have been a teaching assistant for HDFS 535 (A Family Perspective in Policymaking), HDFS 663 (Developmental and Family Assessment), and HDFS 516 (Stress and Resilience in Families Across the Lifespan).

Awards and Recognition

• Institute for Research on Poverty Dissertation Research Fellow
• Russell Sage Foundation Dissertation Research Award

Selected Publications and Presentations

Flanagan, E., & Halpern-Meekin, S. (2022). Perceived Learning Costs: Mothers’ Approaches to Financial Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Conference, Washington D.C.