Dr. Leah Hamilton

Leah Hamilton, MSW, Ph.D., is a professor of social work at App State, a senior fellow at the Jain Family Institute and a faculty affiliate at the Social Policy Institute of Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches social welfare policy and conducts research on economic justice and basic income.

Her book, “Welfare Doesn't Work: The Promises of Basic Income for a Failed American Safety Net,” was released in 2020. As principal investigator of the Family Economic Policy Lab, she leads the evaluation of several basic/guaranteed income pilots across the United States. Her work has been featured in multiple national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNBC, The Atlantic, Forbes, National Public Radio, Fortune and Fast Company. She serves on the policy council for the Humanity Forward Foundation and formerly served on the Basic Income Earth Network board and as president of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. 

Areas of expertise

• Social policy
• Poverty
• Basic/guaranteed income