“Our community is resilient and resourceful, but we are grappling with deep and long-standing inequities that leave families with thin financial buffers. We need solutions that tackle these problems at the root, bold policies and programs that shift the paradigm and expand our imagination of what is possible.
Guaranteed income is one such solution that can give people the agency and freedom to take care of themselves and their families and audaciously pursue their future. Guaranteed income when developed in coalition with community members and with the principles of racial justice is a step toward creating a more just and equitable economy.”
Hope Wollensack studies the intersection of political and economic exclusion along with the community-driven solutions needed to address key challenges.
She is executive director of the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund, where she is piloting a guaranteed income program focused on low-income women in Georgia--with its first site in the historic Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta. She is also the senior strategist at the Economic Security Project (ESP), providing thought leadership, research, and writings on approaches that build a just and inclusive economy. Prior to her current roles, she was a founding policy and advocacy director at Fair Fight Action and served on the political team with the Abrams for Governor Campaign in 2018.
As a former teacher and assistant principal in New Orleans, Hope has deep experience in organizing young people, educators, and the faith community. She earned her Master of Public Administration from Princeton's School of International and Public Affairs as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University, where she helped found the Africana Studies program.
Organization
Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund (GRO Fund), Atlanta, GA
Area of Focus
Economic inclusion and income support
Fellowship Project
Design and implement a community advisory council for the GRO Fund to provide consistent feedback on the design, implementation, evaluation, and policy impact of the fund’s guaranteed income program and inform a toolkit outlining approaches for community engagement and racial justice programs.