Mark R. Warren

Mark R. Warren is a Professor in the Department of Public Policy & Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A sociologist and community-engaged scholar, he focuses on community organizing, educational justice, and racial equity, particularly through grassroots movements dismantling systemic racism in schools.

• Author of six books, including the 2021 Oxford University Press title Willful Defiance, which won the 2025 Grawemeyer Education Award.
• Co-founder of networks like the People’s Think Tank for Educational Justice and the Urban Research Based Action Network (URBAN).

Research Interests:

• Grassroots community organizing against the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Intersectional approaches to educational justice, linking race, immigration, and LGBTQ+ rights.
• Collaborative, community-engaged research methodologies.

Scientific Awards:

• 2025 Grawemeyer Education Award
• 2022 Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship (UMass Boston)
• Guggenheim Fellowship
• SAGE McCune Fellow at Stanford’s CASBS
• AERA Fellow

Notable Contributions: Multi-year studies in Mississippi, LA, and Chicago; frameworks for local-national movement interplay; advocacy for police-free schools and restorative justice practices.