Mitra Naseh, assistant professor at the Brown School, has been selected as one of four scholars nationwide for the 2025-2026 Visiting Poverty Scholars Program, administered by the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The program supports U.S.-based poverty scholars from low-income backgrounds by providing access to academic resources and professional networks. Scholars spend a week in residence at IRP or one of its partner centers.
Naseh will complete her residency at the Center for Poverty & Inequality Research at the University of California, Davis. There, she will collaborate with faculty, access research resources, and present a seminar on poverty-related issues.
“I’m honored to receive this competitive award and to engage with scholars at UC Davis as I further my work,” Naseh said.
Naseh directs the Forced Migration Initiative at the Brown School. Her research focuses on the social and economic integration of forcibly displaced populations. She co-authored the widely recognized book, Best Practices in Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants (Columbia University Press, 2019).
Founded in 1966, IRP is the nation’s longest-standing poverty research center and is designated by the U.S. government as the National Poverty Research Center. It conducts nonpartisan research to inform policy and practice on poverty and inequality in the United States.