Amy Widestrom

Amy Widestrom holds a B.A. in Theater and English from Oberlin College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Syracuse University.  Her main areas of interest are political behavior, urban policy, and economic inequality, with a focus on how economic segregation affects political mobilization and political behavior in the United States.

Amy is a contributing author to a forthcoming edited volume on cities in American history, and has presented at numerous conferences.  Her current research projects include an investigation into the relationship between economic segregation and state-level welfare and community development expenditures, and the effect of economic segregation on voluntary associations in urban communities.

Amy has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Brookings Institution Research Fellowship.  During the 2008 – 2009 academic year, she was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow working for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Outside of academia, Amy has worked for Mercy Housing California, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and management of low-income housing, as an instructor at San Quentin penitentiary, and as a fundraiser and event planner.