Laura Dresser
PhD, University of Michigan, 1994; MSW, University of Michigan, 1991; BA, Rice University, 1988
Clinical Associate Professor
(608) 262-6944
303 School of Social Work
Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Laura Dresser joined the SSW as Assistant Clinical Professor of Macropractice in 2017. She is also the Associate Director of COWS, a UW–Madison think-and-do tank where she has worked for more than two decades. Her research and practice has focused on low-wage work and workforce development systems. She has analyzed the structure of low-wage jobs, written about ways to build stronger labor market systems and worked extensively with labor, business, and community leaders to build them. A co-editor of The Gloves-Off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America’s Labor Market, she is currently working issues of care work and the connection between quality care, quality jobs, and minimum wages.