Heather D. Hill is a professor in the Evans School. Her research examines how public and workplace policies influence family economic circumstances and child wellbeing in low-income families. She brings an inter-disciplinary lens to these topics, integrating theoretical and methodological insights from developmental psychology, economics, and sociology.

Research/Teaching Areas: Poverty and anti-poverty policy, Social policy and child well-being, Low-wage employment, Income volatility

Current Projects/Research: Trends and consequences of income instability in households with children, Effects of local and state minimum wage laws, Effects of state Earned Income Tax Credits on multiple forms of violence, Evaluating the Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave program

Chavez Santos, E., Ornelas, I., Hill, H.D., Spector, J.T., Flunker, J.C., & Baquero, B. (forthcoming). A cross-sectional legal epidemiology study of associations between state-level labor laws (LLEI) and workplace sanitation and training indicators among Hispanic US crop workers using the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS). Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 

Hill, H.D., & Ybarra, M., Goodman, J., & Pelletier, E. (forthcoming) Are State Paid Leave Programs a Safety Net for Low-Income Single Mothers? RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.  

Bruns, A., Wething, H. & Hill, H.D. (2025). Making low-wage work and family fit: Perceptions and strategies among working families. Community, Work, & Family. Published online June 5th. 

Buszkiewicz, J.H., Hajat, A., Hill, H.D., Otten, J.J. & Drewnowski, A. (2023). Racial, ethnic, and gender differences in the association between higher state minimum wages and health and mental well-being in US adults with low educational attainment. Social Science & Medicine, 322