Yolanda J. Clark

Yolanda Clark, Ph.D., is a senior research specialist with the Center for Governmental Studies Workforce Development and Economic Impact Analysis team. She has over twenty years of experience in community development and affordable housing. Prior to joining NIU, Yolanda worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Community Development at Delta State University. Her courses focused on sociology of housing, research methods and community development.

Yolanda has worked as a consultant responsible for conducting project management, policy analysis and programmatic assessments for affordable housing owners/agents and nonprofit organizations. She has also served as a compliance manager for a Department of Housing & Urban Development contract administrator.

Yolanda earned a Ph.D. in human capital development from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.S. in community development from Delta State University. Yolanda has also completed the inaugural cohort of the Leaderful Communities Academy sponsored by the University of Mississippi’s Community Engagement Center and the Kettering Foundation.