Kimberly Ann Bender

Kimberly Ann Bender is a Professor and the Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk at the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Doctoral Education. Her work focuses on interventions to empower marginalized youth, particularly those experiencing homelessness, and she is known for her participatory action research approaches.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin (2008)
• MSW, Colorado State University (2002)
• B.S. in Psychology, University of Colorado Boulder (1999)

Research Interests: Her research spans addictions, youth homelessness, civic engagement, implementation science, and social justice. She leads projects such as a multi-state study on youth homelessness risk factors and a mindfulness-based intervention for sheltered youth funded by NIDA.

Awards & Recognition:

• University-wide Distinguished Scholar Award
• Public Good Faculty of the Year
• Excellence in Mentoring and Teaching Awards

Grants & Partnerships: Supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Center on Excellence in Homelessness Services, and Project X-ITE. Collaborates with community agencies to translate research into policy and practice.

Labs & Teams: Leads interdisciplinary teams addressing homelessness through innovation, including a civic hackathon project and participatory research with youth.