Leadership

Steven Durlauf is a leading scholar in inequality research. He is the center’s founding Director and the Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy. He is known for integrating sociological ideas into economic theories of inequality, poverty, and intergenerational mobility as well as for research that elucidates how statistical analysis can reveal the mechanisms underlying various dimensions of inequality.

Damon Jones is an expert empiricist whose research focuses on the effects of social programs and tax policy on household finances and outcomes. He is an Associate Director of the center and an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Prior to joining the leadership of the Stone Center in 2022, Jones served a year-long term as a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he focused on social insurance, racial equity, tax policy, and federal contracting.

Geoffrey Wodtke is an Associate Director of the center and a Professor at the University of Chicago Department of Sociology. His scholarship focuses broadly on the social, economic, and ideational processes that generate and legitimize inequalities in human development. His current research examines how neighborhood, racial, and class inequalities in early skill formation are linked with disparate exposures to environmental health hazards, such as neurotoxic air pollution and leaded paint.

Grace Kolavo is the center’s inaugural Executive Director, where she launched and now leads this vibrant research consortium for the interdisciplinary study of inequality. Grace has dedicated her career to running research centers at the University of Chicago. In past roles, she has served as a chief administrator, chief of staff, and resource manager for large-scale, high-impact economics research projects. Cherry on top, Grace earned both a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.