Bowers, Melanie

I am enchanted by whimsical tales and magical places, enthralled by political thought and academic research and committed to the recognition, understanding, and eradication of inequality through systemic change. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University o f Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Economics, I have spent my professional and volunteer life working in non-profits. Starting directly out of high school with Americorps NCCC, I have worked with organizations that address homelessness and barriers to affordable housing, HIV/AIDS and the disparate impact on GLBT and minority communities, the elderly and inadequate access to long term care, environmental degradation, GLBT rights and economic and community development. I am thrilled to enter MSU’s Ph.D program and most excited to explore issues within race and urban politics, policy and political behavior. I have a forthcoming coauthored in the Social Science Quarterly that explores the effects of lifetime felon disenfranchisement on non-felon political participation and am currently working on a joint project exploring how existing economic development policy can be used to transform sprawling outer suburbs into sustainable communities using the principles of New Urbanism. In my free time, I enjoy everything outdoors, writing children’s stories, painting, spending time with my wonderful husband-to-be and dog and drinking delicious coffee, curled in comfy chairs with excellent books.