Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab is a sociologist transforming student struggles into systemic solutions.  Founder of the #RealCollege movement to support students’ basic needs, author of the best-selling book Paying the Price, College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, leader of path-breaking research, and translator of that science into changes in how colleges support students, she has driven dozens of state and federal policies making higher education more humane and affordable. Her nonprofit, Believe in Students, works with faculty nationwide, and the American Federation of Teachers, to directly support students with emergency aid while also equipping faculty with the tools needed to improve working and learning conditions on campus.  Named by Politico “one of the top 50 people shaping American politics,” Dr. Goldrick-Rab is a Carnegie Scholar, a William T. Grant Faculty Scholar, and recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Education. She currently advises college leaders and policymakers from Philadelphia, where she also teaches sociology at the only community college in the poorest large American city.