Anupama Jacob received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Economics from Aarhus University, Denmark. With a strong belief in the power of research-informed practice and practice-informed research, she is deeply committed to using research as a tool to address pressing social issues. Her research interests center on poverty and inequality in the United States, with an aim to generate insights that drive meaningful social change. She spent a decade at Azusa Pacific University (APU), serving as a professor in the Department of Social Work and as APU’s Director of Student Research. Her professional experience also includes six years as Publication Manager at the Center for Social Development, a research and policy center at Washington University in St. Louis, a role that enriched her experience in research dissemination and policy engagement.