Rate My Professor Rachel Fyall

Rachel Fyall is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director at the University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. She joined the Evans School as an assistant professor in Autumn 2014. Prior to academia, Fyall worked in housing policy at the Housing Development Consortium in Seattle and at the Technology Access Foundation, gaining professional experience in nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Affairs from Indiana University, an M.P.A. with a concentration in nonprofit management from George Washington University, and a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University. Fyall serves as Faculty Chair of Urban@UW's Homelessness Research Initiative and is a faculty affiliate of the West Coast Poverty Center and the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology at the University of Washington.

Fyall's research examines the influence of nonprofit organizations on public policy formation and service delivery, including how administrative discretion shapes services provided by nonprofit contractors and nonprofit advocacy and lobbying activities. Her work centers on publicly subsidized low-income housing, such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, and homelessness interventions. Her scholarship has been published in top journals including Public Administration Review, Policy Studies Journal, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. Notable publications include 'The Power of Nonprofits: Mechanisms for Nonprofit Policy Influence' (Public Administration Review, 2016), 'Nonprofits as Advocates and Providers: A Conceptual Framework' (Policy Studies Journal, 2017), 'Advocating for Policy Change in Nonprofit Coalitions' with M. McGuire (Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2015), and 'The Intersection of Nonprofit Roles and Public Policy Implementation' with J. Levine Daniel (Public Performance & Management Review, 2019). Fyall received the ARNOVA Research Award on Philanthropic Impact and was a co-recipient of a NASPAA award for contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning for her article 'Talking about Antisemitism in MPA Classrooms and Beyond' (Journal of Public Affairs Education, 2020). Her research informs policy discussions on housing security, nonprofit roles in public services, and urban equity.