Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion

Today's young people are growing up in an increasingly complex and ever-evolving economic world that questions equal access to higher education and the value of a college degree, overemphasizes the roles of credit and debt for achieving economic goals, reveals employment landscapes with often insufficient compensation, and contains tax and policy structures that place them at a disadvantage for acquiring and accumulating wealth. It is within this context that Dr. Friedline conducts research to envision, redefine, and move economic justice with young people—particularly for those growing up in poverty who may be at a competitive disadvantage for navigating this economic world. Her research aims to study Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs) as a gateway into the economic world, an alternative or complement to credit and debt for achieving economic goals, an opportunity for acquiring and accumulating wealth, and a policy for facilitating economic mobility. Dr. Friedline conducts this research as an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, Faculty Director of the Financial Inclusion Project within the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion, and Research Fellow at the New America Foundation. She holds an MSW and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.