The School of Labor and Urban Studies has a world-class faculty, which includes renowned social science scholars as well as expert practitioners in the fields of Labor and Urban studies. Together, this faculty provides both intellectual development and practical learning to give students the tools they need to succeed. Many SLU faculty hold the title of Distinguished Professor, the highest-ranking bestowed by the University. All of them are dedicated teachers as well as activists who are committed to education for meaningful social change. Collectively, the faculty has produced a widely recognized body of work, including some of the most influential social science research in the field.
Sofya Aptekar
- Associate Professor of Urban Studies
Kafui Attoh
- Associate Professor of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
Juan Battle
- Presidential Professor, Graduate Center, CUNY; Consortial Faculty.
Deepak Bhargava
- Distinguished Lecturer, Urban Studies
Ellen Dichner
- Distinguished Lecturer, School of Labor and Urban Studies
Alethia Jones
- Distinguished Lecturer in Labor Studies
Penny Lewis
- Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
Steven London
- Chair of Urban Studies, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
Stephanie Luce
- Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
- Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center
Heather McGhee
- Distinguished Lecturer of Urban Studies
Ruth Milkman
- Chair of Labor Studies Department
- Distinguished Professor of Sociology, joint appointment, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and CUNY Graduate Center
John Mollenkopf
- Distinguished Professor of Political Science; Consortial Faculty
James Rodriguez
- Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
Samir Sonti
- Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
Adjunct Faculty
Steven W. Attewell
Teaches “Introduction to U.S. Social & Economic Policy”
Joshua Bienstock
Teaches “Arbitration”
Jane Bogart
Teaches “Foundations for Healthcare Leaders”
Eugene T. Carroll
Teaches “History of Public Workers in the U.S.”
H. Jacob Carlson
Teaches Special Topic “Criminal Justice”
Michelle Chen
is a contributing writer for The Nation and In These Times, and a contributing editor at Dissent magazine She is also a co-producer of “Asia Pacific Forum” on Pacifica’s WBAI and Dissent’s “Belabored” podcast. She received her Ph.D. in at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
Teaches “Special Topics: Labor & Media”
Elena Conte
Teaches “Community Organizing & Community Organizations”
Elizabeth Cora Eisenberg
leads the Capstone project in Urban Studies.
Maria Clotilde Figueroa
Teaches “Capstone in Labor Studies” & “Research Methods”
Robin Mary Gillespie
has worked as staff and consultant for labor unions on health and safety hazards and policies, with a focus in the past decade on transit workers. She also does research on these issues for DOT-funded join labor-management projects, and is currently looking at toilet access for transit drivers.
Teaches “Worker Health and Safety”
Melinda Gordon
Teaches “Public Sector Labor Law”
Stephanie Hubbard
Teaches “Fundamentals of Healthcare Systems”
Paul Italie
Teaches “Contemporary Labor Issues”
Michael G. Johnson
has served as an adjunct faculty member at the school for more than five years, teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in U.S. social and economic policy, public issues and public policy, and public administration.
During his 20 year career, Michael has held numerous senior housing and economic development positions in the government, serving four different mayors in New York City and New Jersey. More recently, Michael served as Vice President for JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Global Philanthropy team, a financial leader in corporate responsibility with more than $285 million invested in communities across the U.S. and around the world.
A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michael received his Master’s Degree in City Planning. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia and Master’s Degree in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Michael serves on various committees for the MIT Alumni Association and is on the board of Berean Housing Fund Development Corporation. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.
Teaches “Policy Analysis” & “Public Administration”
Rebecca J. Lurie
Teaches, “Cooperative Management for a Changing World”, “Community Development and Urban Social Problems”, “Urban Studies Fieldwork” and independent Study projects. She is the founder of the Community and Worker Ownership Project where she champions, facilitates and engages in learning activities for cooperative ownership, both locally and nationally.
Justin M. Laird, Ph.D., L.P.
has worked in corporate wellness, college health promotion, and academic medicine, and has served as a university administrator, professor, academic advisor and faculty-in-residence. In addition to his work in higher education, Justin is a private practice psychotherapist. His academic interests include mindfulness, cultural humility, leadership, and existentialism.
Teaches “Leading Change in Turbulent Times” & “Health Disparities”
Michael Patrick McCabe
Teaches “Research Methods in Urban & Community Studies”
Michael P. McNeil
is the Chief of Administration for Columbia Health, Columbia University and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, where he teaches evaluation courses. At the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, Dr. McNeil specializes in teaching research methods as well as evaluation of health policy and urban health services. His research interests span a broad range of topics in health. He has conducted studies on linking health promotion with student academic success, professional preparation regarding health promotion in higher education, and is current preparing manuscripts addressing topics including the spectrum of sexual infections, and a temporal exploration of alcohol use in college undergraduates. Additionally, Dr. McNeil is the author of dozens of practice-oriented articles and hundreds of presentations.
Teaches “Research Methods in Urban Studies”
Andres F. Puerta
has worked in the labor movement for over two decades as an educator and organizer. He has worked with unions in several industries including construction, television, radio and film and building services. He participated in the first CUNY Union Semester, has a B.A in Political Science and an M.S in Labor Studies. He has been a member of the Murphy/SLU faculty since 2008. Andres directs the Labor Studies Field Work/Internship.
Teaches “Labor & Workplace Studies Field Study/Internship
Arsenia Margaret Reilly-Collins
is a union and community organizer with over 20 years’ experience in labor relations and politics. Arsenia is currently the Director of Contract Campaigns at the Writers Guild of America East, and serves as the lead negotiator at The Onion, Slate, Salon, Vice News, VICELAND, Vice Digital, Fast Company, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Refinery 29, Gimlet Media, Future Media, Gizmodo Media Group
Teaches “Issues in Organizing”
Gouri P. Sadhwani
is Executive Director of the Akanksha Fund, a public grant-making charity. She has worked in social justice with a focus on human rights, education, labor rights for over 20 years. Prior to joining Akanksha she served as Deputy Executive Director at Amnesty International USA; Special Assistant to the President of the Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ; Executive Director of the New York Civic Participation Project and; Executive Director of the Hague Appeal for Peace. She is currently President of the Board of the Friends of Watsessing Park Conservancy in Essex County, NJ. and an Adjunct Professor at CUNY. She teaches at the graduate and undergraduate levels on nonprofits, labor and immigrant issues. She has also taught at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She has a B.A from Montclair State University and an M.P.A. from New York University.
Teaches “Introduction to Nonprofit Leadership”
Claudia Shacter-deChabert
has worked in the labor movement since 1974, when she started working for the United Farmworkers Union as a Boycott Organizer. She also worked for many years as a Labor Relations Specialist for New York State United Teachers in the Nassau Regional Office on Long Island. Claudia has a Master’s degree in Labor and Policy Studies from Empire State College.
Teaches “Unions & Labor Relations”
Anushay Said
Teaches “Urban Public Management”
Elizabeth Sergile
Teaches “Statistics for Social Change”
Andrew Sparberg
is a retired MTA/Long Island RR manager, transportation historian, and author of the 2015 book From a Nickel to a Token, a history of New York mass transit between 1940 and 1968. He teaches “The Development of Mass Transit in New York City: The Industry and its Workers.”
Teaches “Development of Mass Transit in New York City”
Michael R. Stack
Teaches “Research Seminar on Public Policy”
Alan Robinson Takeall
Teaches “Classical Approaches to Urban Studies”
Margaret Tally
is Full Professor of Social and Public Policy at the School for Graduate Studies of the State University of New York, Empire State College. She is the author of Television Culture and Women’s Lives: Thirtysomething and the Contradictions of Gender (1995). She has also edited three book collections with Betty Kaklamanidou, HBO’s Girls: Questions of Gender, Politics, and Millennial Angst (2014), The Millennials on Film and Television: Essays on the Politics of Popular Culture (2014), and Politics and Politicians in Contemporary US Television (2016), and has authored several articles and book chapters in the area of gender and popular culture. Her most recent book is The Rise of the Anti-Heroine in TV’s Third Golden Age (2016).
She is leading the Capstone project in Urban Studies.
Vivian Truong
Teaches “Work, Culture, Politics”
Denise Torres
Teaches “Research Methods Seminar”
Pamela Whitefield
Teaches “Capstone Project Planning” & “Independent Study”