Stacia West is the co-Founder and Director of the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania, and an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee’s College of Social Work. Dr. West holds a BA in Women's Studies and Philosophy and a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. She holds a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of Kansas. She is the co-PI of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED), the first modern city-led guaranteed income experiment in the US. Her research focuses on universal basic income, unconditional cash-transfers, women’s poverty and wealth inequality, and the affordable housing crisis. Her research portfolio includes numerous grants, state and non-profit evaluation contracts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Asset Funders Network. Her work has been published in leading social science journals including the Journal of Society for Social Work and Research, Social Science and Medicine, The Journal of Family and Economic Issues, and The Gerontologist, and is regularly featured in major national media outlets.