Alicia Atkinson

Research and Innovation Officer at the Wealth and Work Futures Lab, Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, Drexel University
Alicia Atkinson is the Research and Innovation Officer at the Wealth and Work Futures Lab, based out of the Lindy Institute at Drexel University. As a researcher, advocate, somatic practitioner, and systems thinker, she focus on expanding economic and racial justice in the Philadelphia region and beyond. She brings a deep commitment to centering the community in decision-making to shift systems towards equity and justice.

In her prior leadership roles, she’s been responsible for research, policy development, and advocacy work centered on expanding financial security for low-income communities. Most recently, as the Managing Director of Financial Empowerment at United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (UWGPSNJ), where she was responsible for aligning strategic direction to community needs and opportunities, cultivating partnerships, and integrating philanthropic investment to support families, communities and financial security initiatives in the region.

Previously, she was the Managing Director at The Prosperity Agenda, where she led new strategic initiatives and managed place-based projects rooted in the wisdom, experience, and expertise of families enduring economic inequality. She led the research, design, and evaluation of innovations, such as Money Mindset Cards, which honor lived and living experience in financial conversations. Prior to that, she was a Policy Analyst with the Government Affairs team at Prosperity Now, where she promoted effective policies and programs to expand savings, credit building, financial coaching, and integrated service delivery.

Alicia holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity, working exclusively on the Leveraging Mobility Project. She also co-authored the report “Employment Capital: How Work Builds and Protects Family Wealth and Security,” which highlights the importance of quality work-based policies for low- and moderate-income workers in preserving and growing assets overtime.