Katie E. Richards-Schuster

Katie E. Richards-Schuster is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She received her PhD in Social Work and Sociology (2005) and AM in Social Service Administration (1997) from the University of Michigan and University of Chicago respectively. Her work focuses on youth participation and community organizing through participatory research approaches.

• Director of Undergraduate Minor Programs
• Founding Director of the Community Action and Social Change undergraduate minor

Her research explores contexts that facilitate youth engagement across settings, with particular attention to educational justice and critical youth media. She has led community-engaged and national projects focused on youth participation, and has presented at national and international conferences.

Scientific contributions include:

• 2023 ENGAGE Small Grant
• 2018 Ginsberg Center award
• 2018 Gilbert Whitaker Fund grant

She co-chairs the Youth Focused Evaluation group within the American Evaluation Association. Current projects include system-wide youth participatory evaluation in urban school districts and distilling best practices for youth participation in social work.