Bio
Environmental injustice and climate change are urgent issues globally, disproportionately impacting the health and wellbeing of vulnerable and oppressed communities. Dr. Amy Krings explores how members of marginalized communities come together to prevent, mitigate, and resist environmental and other social injustices in ways that increase health equity. Her research reveals opportunities for political and social change, including within the social work profession. A leading scholar in the fields of macro and environmental social work, her research questions and participatory methods are grounded in practice experience as a community organizer and non-profit manager in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Krings received her Ph.D. from the Social Work and Political Science Joint Doctoral Program at the University of Michigan. She is the recipient of the Article of the Year Prize in International Social Work (2020) and the Journal of Community Practice (2019). She is a co-lead of the Grand Challenge Advisory Council: Social Responses to a Changing Environment and an elected board member of both Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) and Influencing Social Policy (ISP). She was a Visiting Scholar through the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (2021) where she collaborated with international scholars to integrate environmental justice theory and practice within ecosocial work.
As part of the College of Social Work, Dr. Krings aims to support social work students and practitioners as they grow their capacity and confidence as social change agents.
Education
BSW – Xavier University
MSW – The University of Michigan
Ph.D. – The University of Michigan
Areas of Expertise
Community Practice (community organizing, development, and research)
Environmental Justice
Gentrification
Macro Social Work
Political Social Work
Social Justice Education
Theories of Social Change
Areas of Interest for Mentoring PhD Students
Community Practice
Critical Analysis
Environmental Justice and Ecosocial Work
Theories of Collective Action and Social Change
Political Social Work