Kim Lucas

Civic Research Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics

Boston

Kim’s life has centered around questions, and she brings this expertise to her work as MONUM’s Director of Civic Research. Part researcher, part practitioner, and part muppet, Kim has consistently kept one foot in the ivory tower and one foot on the ground, pairing research with practice to seek real solutions to social policy and planning problems. Questioning who we think of as ‘expert’ and how stakeholders identify ‘value’ are two common threads that pervade her work. Kim holds a BA in Psychology and Sociology from UCLA, an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and Child Development from Tufts University, and puppies anytime she can. She is presently a PhD candidate in Social Policy and Sociology at Brandeis University; her dissertation is an economic sociological exploration of the ‘value’ of the early childhood workforce.