CV

Education

University of Michigan

  • Ph.D., Social Work & Political Science, expected 2018
  • Dissertation: The underutilized instrument: Social workers and elected office
  • Chairs: Barry Checkoway, Ann Lin
  • MSW, 2011

University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • B.S., Education, 2005

Honors and Awards

University of Michigan, Gerald R. Ford Fellowship, 2017-2018

University of Michigan, Boyd/Williams Dissertation Grant for Research on Women and Work, 2017

University of Michigan, Graduate Student Research Grant, 2015

University of Michigan, Summer Research Partnership, 2014

University of Michigan, Summer Collaboration Award, 2013

University of Michigan, Ph.D. Fellowship, 2012-2013

University of Wisconsin, Graduated with distinction, 2005

University of Wisconsin, Dean’s List, 2001-2005

Grants

University of Michigan, Office of Research, $15,000 for Detroit Summer Youth Employment Longitudinal Study, with Trina Shanks, Ph.D., as PI.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Under Review

Meehan, P., and Shames, S. (under review). The instrumental office: Making a difference through elected office. Submitted to Political Behavior on July 13, 2017.

Meehan, P. (under review). What difference does it make? Social workers’ ambivalence toward elected office. Submitted to Journal of Policy Practice on May 24, 2017.

Meehan, P. (under review). It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it: Social workers and running for office. Submitted Journal of Social Work on May 16, 2017.

Peer-Reviewed Published

Meehan, P. (in press). “I think I can…maybe I can…I can’t”: Social work women and local elected office. Social Work.

Suskind, D., Leffel, K., Hernandez, M., Sapolich, S., Suskind, E., Kirkham, E., & Meehan, P. (2013). An exploratory study of “quantitative linguistic feedback”: Effect of LENA feedback on adult language production. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 20(10), 1-11.

Dworsky, A., & Meehan, P. (2012). The parenting experiences of homeless adolescent mothers and mothers-to-be: Perspectives from a shelter sample. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 2117-2122.

Non Peer-Reviewed

Robinson, C., Shanks, T., & Meehan, P. (2017). Hallmarks of effective youth employment programs across the United States: Implications for Detroit. Report developed for the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation.

Shanks, T., & Meehan, P. (2014). Detroit Summer Youth Employment Program: Results Of 2013 Youth Employee Exit Surveys. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan School of Social Work Technical Assistance Center.

Baker, S., Rich, L., Wojnarowski, M., & Meehan, P. (2013). Implementing successful school-based health centers: Lessons from the Chicago Elev8 initiative. Chapin Hall Discussion Paper. Available at http://www.chapinhall.org/research/report/implementing-successful-school-based-health-centers-lessons-chicago-elev8-initiative.

Shanks, T., McGee, K., & Meehan, P. (2010). Detroit Summer Youth Employment Program: Results of Employer and Youth Employee Exit Surveys. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan School of Social Work Technical Assistance Center.

Meehan, P. (2010) Evaluation of Early Head Start: Income, education, and cognitive development of children prior to age three. Michigan Journal of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1(1), 34-44.

Working Papers

Educating for inexperience: The political process in the social work classroom.

Presentations

Meehan, P. (July 2017). “I think I can…maybe I can…I can’t”: Women and elected office in the age of Trump. Presentation to the Seminar Slam! at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Meehan, P., & Shames, S. (April 2017). The instrumental office: Making a difference through elected office. Paper presentation at the Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

Meehan, P., & Shames, S. (April 2017). The instrumental office: Making a difference through elected office. Paper presentation at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Meehan, P., & Shames, S. (November 2016). The instrumental office: Making a difference through elected office. Poster presentation at the Toronto Political Behavior Workshop, Toronto, ON.

Dunkle, R., Feld, S., Shen, H.W., Kim, M.H., Meehan, P. (November, 2014). The effects of spousal caregiving on caregiver depression. Poster presentation at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, FL.

Kalil, A., Leininger, L., & Meehan, P. (November, 2013). Expenditures on children during the Great Recession. Paper presentation at the Annual Fall Research Conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management, Washington, D.C.

Suskind, D., Leininger, L., Suskind, E., Leffel, K., Sapolich, S., & Meehan, P. (October, 2012). A randomized controlled pilot of a novel parent-directed language intervention in children of low SES: The Thirty Million Words Project. Poster presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA.

Walker, L., Daro, D., Jarpe-Ratner, E., & Meehan, P. (August, 2012). Building a base of evidence for a promising school-based nutrition education program that fits the new SNAP-Ed guidance. Paper presentation to the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics, Baltimore, MD.

Daro, D. Jarpe-Ratner, E., Meehan, P., & Walker, L. (March, 2012). Contributing to program development through evaluation. Brown Bag presentation to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Gant, L.M., Shanks, T., Williams, G., & Meehan, P. (October, 2011). Working with MSW interns and community partners to improve youth outcomes through a comprehensive community initiative. Panel presentation at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Research Experience

Principal Investigator, University of Michigan, Michigan Law & Social Work Study, 2017

  • How interested are MSW students in running for office compared to law students? How do women in social work and women in law compare?
  • Secured agreements with four MSW programs in Michigan to collect survey data on their students: University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and Western Michigan University.
  • Obtained survey data from three JD programs in Michigan: University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University.
  • 828 surveys collected.

Principal Investigator, University of Michigan, Candidate and Delegate Project, 2015 to present

  • How many social workers are in elected office or serve as party precinct delegates? How does that compare with lawyers?
  • Candidate and delegate lists compiled from Michigan’s five largest counties between 2006 and 2016. Matched with lists of LMSW-holders and Bar Association members in each county.
  • 14,762 unique candidates and delegates identified: 56 LMSW, 583 JD.
  • Interviews with identified individuals are ongoing.
  • Manage three undergraduate research assistants on this project.

Research Assistant, University of Michigan, Detroit Summer Youth Employment Program Evaluation, 2012-present

  • Develop, maintain, and disseminate data collection instruments on Qualtrics.
  • Participate in evaluation committee meetings.
  • Analyze data for description, inference, and interpretation using STATA.
  • Contribute to written reports and grant applications.

Research Assistant, University of Michigan, Health and Retirement Study, 2013-2014

  • Managed data using SAS, and performed data analysis using STATA.

Research Assistant, William Davidson Institute, Base of Pyramid and Latin America, 2013

  • Managed and analyzed data using STATA.

Project Associate, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

  • Evaluation team member for Common Threads, Elev8, LENA.
  • Managed data for the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study Child Supplement.

Teaching Experience

Instructor, University of Michigan, School of Social Work, 2017

  • Course: Basic Social Work Research

Instructor, University of Michigan, School of Social Work, 2016

  • Course: Evaluation in Social Work

Instructor, University of Michigan, Department of Political Science, 2016

  • Course: Introduction to American Politics

Guest Lecturer, University of Michigan, School of Social Work, 2016

  • Course: Social Work and Policy

Graduate Student Instructor, University of Michigan, Department of Political Science, 2014-2015

  • Course: American Political Theory

Professional Service

Co-Chair, Interdisciplinary Workshop on American Politics, University of Michigan, 2015-2016

Admissions Committee, University of Michigan Department of Political Science, 2015-2016

Doctoral Committee, University of Michigan School of Social Work, 2015-2017

Reviewer, Children and Youth Services Review, 2013

Secretary, Doctoral Student Organization, University of Michigan School of Social Work, 2013-2013

Practice Experience

Youth Program Manager, Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga, Waverly, NY, 2007-2009

  • After school services for 15 participating families, including case management, home visits, and counseling.

Community Organizer, Binghamton Neighborhood Assemblies Project, Binghamton, NY, 2007

  • Recruited low-income participants, and facilitated meetings for neighborhood associations that addressed local concerns with city government.

Transition Program Coordinator, Phoenix School of Roseburg, Roseburg, OR, 2006-2007

  • Developed program to track progress for post-secondary success for at-risk students attending an alternative high school.