Stephanie Baker Collins is an Associate Professor and graduate chair in the School of Social Work at McMaster University. She teaches in the undergraduate, MSW and PhD programs in the areas of social policy, poverty and homelessness, theoretical tensions in social work and research methods. Her practice background includes more than a decade of experience in social policy research, analysis, and advocacy at both the community and the national level. Her research is conducted in partnership with community organizations and focuses on the impact of public policy on the lives of the marginalized groups, including those who live in poverty and/or on social assistance and those who are homeless.

This focus reflects a commitment to bring the resources of the university to the community in order to build community capacity for research and advocacy and in turn, to build her own capacity to learn from community participants how systemic injustice operates in everyday life. Recent projects include an exploration of Ontario Works from the perspective of case managers and the role of youth homelessness in contribution to chronic adult homelessness. Her current project explores the intersection of disability, education and employment for youth experiencing homelessness.