Biography
Yanan Li is a Visiting Lecturer in the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests focus on social inequality, social class mobility, community development, and urban planning. Li’s teaching interests include quantitative methods, research design, policy process, and GI in the public sector.
Li earned her Ph.D. in Public Affairs and Community Development from Rutgers University–Camden, where her dissertation explored class differences, spatial restriction, and affordable housing. She also holds an M.A. in Public Administration from Nankai University and a B.A. in Public Administration from Central South University.
She has published nonprofit anti-poverty efforts and has manuscripts under review or in progress on social capital, housing policy, and political behavior.
Li has presented her work at major academic conferences including APPAM, ASA, APSA, and UAA. Her research has been supported by the Chancellor’s Dissertation Completion Grant, the Rutgers Diversity Dissertation Fellowship, and the Community First Fellowship. She is also a journal referee for Social Indicators Research.
At UT, Li teaches graduate-level courses in research design and has previous experience teaching quantitative methods, public policy foundations, and urbanization at both undergraduate and graduate levels. She is committed to equipping students with both conceptual and applied tools for understanding inequality, governance, and policy interventions in diverse communities.
Education
- B.S., Public Administration, Central South University
- M.A., Public Administration, Nankai University
- Ph.D., Public Affairs and Community Development, Rutgers University-Camden
Publications
Research on Non-profit Organizations’ Participation in the Antipoverty Problem in Argentina
Study on Social Organizations’ Role During the Process of Antipoverty in Argentina