The Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) at the University of Southern California (USC) is pleased to announce Dr. Seth Pickens as its new managing director. HPRI, a collaborative of over one hundred researchers, policymakers, service providers and experts with lived experience of homelessness, is a joint venture of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, located at USC City Center in downtown Los Angeles. Pickens will work closely with Ben Henwood, director of HPRI, advancing a strategic vision for accelerating equitable and culturally-informed solutions to homelessness in Los Angeles County by fostering transformational partnerships between research, policy and practice.
A member of HPRI since 2020, Pickens served as co-chair of its Race Equity Committee in 2022 and 2023. In spring 2024, he led an HPRI research seminar on employment as a basic solution to housing security among adults at high risk of persistent homelessness. In his new role as managing director, Pickens will continue to focus on expanding learning opportunities and building relationships that foster innovations among policymakers, service providers, philanthropies, and people experiencing acute housing insecurity. Pickens brings extensive experience in homelessness and housing to HPRI, most recently as director of the Realization Project for the Economic Roundtable, a three-year research pilot that demonstrated the impact of employment-based solutions on housing insecurity. Additionally, he led the team of researchers who authored the 2024 report, The Work Behind Work: Combatting Homelessness with Jobs.
An expert in mental health and inclusion, Pickens has conducted research and trainings for multiple colleges, universities, nonprofits, research organizations, and the Fortune 100. He also provides professional individual and group counseling services. His formidable background includes service as an elementary school teacher, a sales executive, and Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Haiti.
In 2009, Pickens was ordained as a pastor, subsequently leading Zion Hill Baptist Church in Los Angeles for ten years. He continues to serve as spiritual director and senior minister for the Guidance Church of Religious Science in South L.A. Pickens holds a bachelor of arts in psychology from Morehouse College, a master of divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and a doctor of education from the USC Rossier School of Education.