Dr. Philip Hong has served as the Lucian and Carol Welch Matusak Endowed Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) in the School of Social Work since 2016. He is also a Faculty Associate of the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis. He earned his MSW and PhD in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and also holds an MA and PhD in Political Science from University of Missouri-St. Louis. Dr. Hong's main academic interest is in poverty and workforce development. He is currently partnering with local workforce development initiatives to develop bottom-up strategies for empowering low-income individuals and families in their quest to achieve self-sufficiency.