Melissa A. Thompson is a Ph.D. student in the Public Affairs and Community Development program at Rutgers University Camden. Melissa’s research interests center around pathways for Black liberation, youth and urban poverty, education, and housing. Melissa was a former Teach for America corps member and currently lives in and serves on multiple non-profit boards in Camden, NJ. She is passionate about studying and designing infrastructure that residents can use to gain access to spaces, systems, and supports that lead to their own upward mobility and healing.
