Michael J. Rich is associate professor of political science and director of the Office of University-Community Partnerships at Emory University. He is the author of Federal Policymaking and the Poor (Princeton University Press, 1993), and several publications on federalism and a variety of urban public policy topics, including community development, housing and homelessness, crime, and economic development. His current research focuses on community building and collaborative approaches to poverty reduction, neighborhood revitalization strategies, and welfare reform, particularly concerning issues relating to the accessibility of low-income households to job opportunities and related support services.

Prior to joining the faculty at Emory, Dr. Rich was an assistant professor of political science and public policy at Brown University where he also served as director of the Policy Analysis Laboratory at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. From 1992-1994 he served as the first executive director of The Providence Plan, a nonprofit strategic planning organization created by the city of Providence and the State of Rhode Island and assisted by a consortium of area colleges and universities, to direct the revitalization of Rhode Island's capital city.

Dr. Rich received his PhD in political science from Northwestern University and has held research appointments at the Brookings Institution and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

interests include public education policy, civic engagement, growth and community development.

A Leadership Atlanta class of 2001 alumna, she is an Outstanding Atlanta 2001 award recipient. She is Vice President-Program of the League of Women Voters of Atlanta-Fulton County, is a trustee of the Governmental Research Association and serves on a number of other boards and community project committees. She holds degrees in urban studies/nonprofit administration (MS) from Georgia State University, health sciences (MHS) from the University of Florida, and economics and political science (BA) from Emory.

bio part 1

bio part 2

Mr. Mohamed also works with the Dekalb County Board of Health and ARC as the Vision 2020 project coordinator.  Additionally, he has served as a Clarkston Health Collaborative member, on the Board of Directors of Oakhurst Medical Center, and on Senator Gloria Butler’s Advisory Board. Previously, he worked as a caseworker with World Relief and as a translator of Amharic, Somali, and Oromo.
He was educated in the School of Animal Science in Mogadishu, Somalia, the Atlanta Metropolitan College, and the Leadership Workshop at the University of Georgia.

new projects for the office that bring research, teaching, and service to bear on important public problems, Dr. Owens is preparing a book-length manuscript on community development corporations (CDCs). Specifically, he is examining the political origins of black church-associated CDCs and the political roles they play in the redevelopment of urban neighborhoods. He is also a scholar for the Public Influences of African American Churches Project, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and based at Morehouse College.

Dr. Owens received his Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York-Albany and has held appointments at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, New York State Temporary Commission on Constitutional Revision, and the New York State Senate. In 2000, Sage Publications and the Urban Affairs Association awarded him their annual Young Scholar Award.