Jennifer Sykes
Graduate Student in Sociology and Social Policy
Biographical Note
Jennifer Sykes is a PhD Candidate in the Social Policy & Sociology Department at Harvard University and a Doctoral Fellow in the Multidisciplinary Program on Inequality and Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government. Her work focuses on social inequality and family well-being. Sykes studies poverty and family life from several perspectives, investigating the role of policy in supporting disadvantaged families, the way institutions shape family life, and the way culture shapes parenting ideology. Her current research explores income support policy for the working poor and working near-poor, examining how the Earned Income Tax Credit is perceived by low-income working parents, and how this policy affects their financial lives. Sykes has received several awards in support of her scholarship, including the Javits, Marshall, and Truman fellowships. She holds an A.M. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the University of York (United Kingdom), a B.A. from Michigan State University, and has been a visiting doctoral student at the University of Bristol (United Kingdom). Before coming to Harvard, she worked in the non-profit sector in the areas of program evaluation, crime victim services, and juvenile delinquency programs.
01/14/2011
- Research Interests
- Social policy, Poverty and inequality, Social services administration, Child and family welfare
Contact
617-496-5794 (FAX)
Kennedy School of Government - Taubman 419, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138