Former Obama Administration official Mark Linton (standing at center), a visiting fellow at BC's School of Social Work for the spring 2016 semester, met with faculty and students in early February.
Former Obama Administration official Mark Linton, now president of Linton Strategies, LLC, has joined the Boston College School of Social Work as a visiting fellow during the spring 2016 semester. He will be working with the school's initiative on Research and Innovations in Social, Economic, and Environmental Equity, known as RISE3, and its Center for Social Innovation.
The former executive director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities, Linton was at BC in early February and will make several subsequent trips to campus over the semester, meeting with faculty, students, and a wide range of community partners from the private and non-profit sectors, as well as peer institutions.
He also will lecture on national trends impacting federal and local policymaking as they pertain to cities and inclusive economic development, and share insights related to bridging the divide between effective policy and practice in the field of integrated community development.
"We're excited and lucky to have Mark with us this term,” said Tiziana Dearing, an associate professor at BCSSW and co-director of the Center for Social Innovation. “Part of our school's vision is that social work has a seat at the table when important public policy decisions are made. Mark has been at such tables at the highest levels, and performed at the highest caliber. There is so much we can learn from his experiences about how to help social work students and faculty be of even greater service to federal policy and large-scale social change."
“I look forward to engaging with BC's exceptional faculty, students, and civic partners,” said Linton. “The Center for Social Innovation and the School of Social Work are in the vanguard of addressing some of our nation’s most pressing and persistent problems by bringing together researchers and practitioners committed to promoting economic opportunity for everyone. I’m proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this exciting learning environment.”
Mark Linton founded Linton Strategies after six years in the administration of President Barack Obama. Most recently, he was the first executive director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities. Prior to that role, he served in a number of leadership positions in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including as acting chief of staff and general deputy assistant secretary for Congressional and intergovernmental relations. Linton also served in then-Senator Barack Obama's Washington office when he represented Illinois, and worked on the Obama for America campaign in 2008. Linton began his career with Catholic Relief Services, the international relief and development arm of the U.S. Catholic Church. He has a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor's degree in foreign languages and international economics from the University of Kentucky.
Read a Q&A with Linton on the BC School of Social blog.
The Center for Social Innovation at the Boston College School of Social Work strives to promote “innovation from within” by preparing tomorrow's social service leaders and fostering effective, sustainable social innovations that enhance social justice.