SPSSI Books Editor

Brian D. Christens is the editor of SPSSI’s Contemporary Social Issues book series, published by Cambridge University Press. He is a Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University, where he directs the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Community Research and Action. His research is on the mechanisms linking civic participation to individual and community well-being, and how different organizational approaches to civic action can lead to different outcomes. He is especially interested in young people’s involvement and leadership in efforts to change systems, and the ways that these experiences relate to other aspects of human development. His book Community Power and Empowerment (Oxford University Press, 2019) details this research on psychological and organizational processes within a framework for understanding and altering community power structures. He is a 2012 recipient of SPSSI’s Michele Alexander Early Career Award.