Olivia Wilks

Olivia Wilks is currently a second year PhD student at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She received her MA from the Crown School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago. After completing her master's degree, Olivia has worked on system transformation and policy implementation efforts within the child protection system and the criminal legal system as a Senior Policy Analyst at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Olivia is currently a graduate research assistant at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) where she supports exploration and evaluation of equitable housing policies and practices. Olivia's research interests are related to poverty governance. She is particularly interested in the ways in which public systems (specifically the child protection system and the criminal legal system) work with private partners to expand surveillance and control of poor communities of color.