Krings, Amy, PhD

Bio

Environmental injustice and impacts associated with the climate crisis are urgent issues globally, disproportionately impacting the health and wellbeing of already 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 community-engaged research 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 both International Social Work (2020) and the Journal of Community Practice (2019). She co-leads the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare’s Grand Challenge to Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment. She is an incoming co-editor of the Journal of Community Practice and an elected board member of Influencing Social Policy (ISP). In 2021, she was a Visiting Scholar through the University of Jyväskylä, Finland 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