Quinn Kinzer joins Filene as a Research Associate, where she works with executive-level sponsors, research fellows, vendors, and internal teams to manage and support research relationships and processes while also contributing to new research initiatives.
Quinn brings to the team her interdisciplinary academic training in applied microeconomics and policy analysis. Most recently, she conducted independent research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her PhD. Her work explored how policy can shape vulnerabilities for marginalized populations in their labor conditions. In addition, she taught one of the School of Human Ecology’s most popular courses for seven semesters while also engaging in campus advocacy with student-led volunteer groups and university administration. These experiences strengthened Quinn’s commitment to making research matter by communicating it to the people it is intended to support, and ultimately led her to Filene, where she can fulfill that mission by working with credit unions and their communities.
Quinn holds a PhD and MA in Consumer Sciences from the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS in Economics and Business with a minor in International Studies from the University of Idaho. Originally from Bend, Oregon, her passion for the outdoors took her from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest. She now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her friendly – and perpetually confused – sidekick, Bubbles, an adopted corgi mix who moonlights as her at-home research assistant.