Sean Joe named Institute for Economic Equity research fellow

Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School, has been named a 2024-2025 Institute for Economic Equity research fellow by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. As one of nine scholars selected for the cohort, Joe will conduct in-residence research focused on promoting economic inclusion and addressing systemic barriers to equity.

Joe leads HomeGrown StL, a consortium of 120 municipal and community organizations he established in response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. He plans to use the fellowship to drive initiatives that improve the economic mobility of Black boys and young men. 

“I will work with Institute staff to produce rigorous economic data insights to guide HomeGrown StL’s regional strategic planning and larger-scale policy experiments to eliminate the barriers to wealth building for Black men,” Joe said.

The St. Louis Fed launched the Institute for Economic Equity in 2021 to advance inclusive economic opportunities for households and communities across the Eighth Federal Reserve District and beyond.

William M. Rodgers III, the institute’s director, praised the new cohort’s potential impact. “This stellar group of scholars will analyze the barriers to individuals’ economic potential and how to reduce or overcome those barriers,” Rodgers said. “We’re looking forward to the insightful, in-depth research this cohort will generate to inform the conversation on fostering equality.”