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.










