About

Mildred Warner is a professor in the Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Cornell University. Her research focuses on restructuring local government services, planning for more child and age-friendly cities, and promoting environmental sustainability at the local level. Warner is an international expert on issues related to decentralization, social protection challenges posed by devolution, privatization, and fiscal crises, and how cities can address these challenges. She has authored more than a hundred journal articles, book chapters, and professional reports, and has received major research grants from government and foundations. Warner works closely with local government officials, planners, policy analysts, economic developers, and union leaders both in the U.S. and abroad. She holds a B.A. in history from Oberlin College, an M.S. in agricultural economics, and a Ph.D. in development sociology from Cornell University.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Public administration
• Economic growth
• Economic policy
• Business
• Economics

Selected publications

• <i>Yakumama</i>  – how women’s movements link culture, science and legal strategies to protect rivers

  Journal of integrated global STEM · 2026-02-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract This paper examines how women-led social movements in Quito, Ecuador address severe river contamination by combining cultural, scientific, and legal strategies. Drawing on data from the RIOS25 workshop – designed to extract and systematize the narratives and strategies of activists seeking legal personhood for highly polluted rivers under the Rights of Nature paradigm – we highlight values, challenges, and innovative actions. Participatory methods included personal storytelling, visual timelines, strategy mapping, and collective visioning, engaging women leaders ( yakumama – women water guardians) from four civil society organizations: Women for Water, River Spirit, San Pedro River Collective, and the Ravines Collective. Participants emphasized personal connection, memory, resistance, and hope. River Spirit used photography and symbolic weaving; the San Pedro Collective leveraged social media, art, and local ordinances; Women for Water pursued constitutional reforms and litigation; and the Ravines Collective transformed victims into activists through education and legal action. Findings reveal that restoring rivers demands integrating culture, science, political advocacy, and law – respecting rivers as living entities to break the polluter/victim cycle.

  PublisherDOI

• Local Responses to Limits on U.S. Public Health Authority During the COVID‐19 Emergency

  The International Journal of Health Planning and Management · 2026-01-27

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Public health has become politicized in the U.S. Though research shows that limiting public health authority during emergency response puts community wellbeing and health outcomes at risk, during the COVID-19 emergency (2020-2021), some U.S. state policymakers limited the disease-preventing actions local public health agencies could take. This conflicts with public health agencies' mandate to protect lives. Using COVID-19 as a case study, we explored how local public health agencies upheld their mandate when faced with limited public health authority. We conducted qualitative semi-structured focus groups (October 2023) with a purposive sample of U.S. public health officials (n = 14) from seven U.S. states which experienced four types of restrictions on local public health actions (limits on the emergency authority of governor, chief executive, state health officer, and local government health officers). Participants discussed barriers and challenges faced, adaptations made, actions taken, and perspectives for the future. Emergent themes suggest that while limited resources and restricted public health authority caused strain, public health efforts were upheld through cross agency collaboration at the local level which supported innovation. To achieve this, trust-building and communication were vital. Limitations on local public health authority may increase in the U.S. in the coming years. To mitigate risks amidst future public health emergencies, public health leaders must focus on building trust, clear and consistent communication, and bolstering collaborative networks at the local level. The politicization of health policy at the state and federal level also needs to be addressed, as local action can only go so far.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Rights of nature and the need for multi-level governance

  Journal of integrated global STEM · 2026-03-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract This special issue presents cases where the courts and civil society have attempted to link ecological, social and political approaches to environmental protection through a new, eco-centric paradigm of nights of nature. Rights of nature builds from an indigenous cosmovision that recognizes nature as an entity with rights and the need to restore the balance between ecosystems and human communities. This paradigmatic shift in legal thought, situates the natural world not only as a matter of environmental concern but as a bearer of intrinsic rights. Rights of Nature gives civil society groups a mechanism to bring cases before the courts and engage directly in river protection and restoration, as the cases in this special issue show. However, there are challenges in implementation – ontological, practical and legal. A multi-level governance system is required, that links scientific with local knowledge, legal decisions with environmental remediation, and local monitoring with state sanctioning power. We illustrate a successful case of river restoration, the Rouge River in the US, to show how an effective multi-level governance system can work. For rights of nature to be effective, we need the state to play more than a role as judge in the courts. Scientific knowledge, environmental remediation and enforcement require the state to exercise its sanctioning power and financial support. Otherwise, rights of nature could be a rhetorical empty promise.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Using Large Language Models to Assess Equity in U.S. Local Government American Rescue Plans

  Journal of the American Planning Association · 2026-02-26

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Derechos de la naturaleza: un puente hacia una visión ecosistémica

  IUSTA · 2025-07-04 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Tras casi dos décadas del reconocimiento de la naturaleza como sujeto de derechos en Ecuador, es necesario debatir sobre el alcance de su protección y la manera en que los distintos actores han incorporado esta figura en su discurso para alcanzar sus objetivos particulares. Este trabajo propone que dicho paradigma debe considerarse como un puente para la garantía de otros derechos y no como un fin en sí mismo. A través del caso de los ríos, se argumenta que los derechos de la naturaleza siguen siendo justificados por su beneficio para el ser humano. Sin embargo, esta perspectiva actúa como un puente hacia una visión ecosistémica, que abarca no solo los ríos, sino también la vida humana y la de otras especies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• School and Healthcare Collaboration in Implementing and Sustaining School‐Based Health Centers in Rural Communities

  Journal of School Health · 2025-09-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: This study examines how school-based health centers (SBHCs) are implemented and sustained through schools and a healthcare system in a four-county rural region in New York State. METHODS: Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with school superintendents and employees of the healthcare system, including SBHC medical providers (physician assistant, mental health therapist, nurse), SBHC manager, care coordinator, Chief of Pediatrics, and executive leader between January and April 2024. Interviews were thematically coded using collective impact and collective action frameworks. RESULTS: SBHCs are implemented and sustained through a strong collaborative culture, shared financial, physical, and human resources, and a common agenda for student well-being. Trust and open communication were essential in clarifying roles and overcoming institutional challenges. Key barriers included funding for startup costs, challenges in data sharing and confidentiality, and different institutional priorities. Regular communication, local governmental support, and community trust helped mitigate these challenges. IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY: Policies should support schools and healthcare systems as equal partners, ensure sustainable funding, and provide clearer guidance on data sharing to advance health equity in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative partnerships, trust, and open communication between schools and healthcare systems are essential to support SBHCs in rural communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Courts, rights of rivers and the city: insights from Ecuador

  Water International · 2025-05-30 · 6 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Indigenous Leadership in Addressing the Digital Divide

  2025-07-10

  book-chapterOpen access

  Indigenous communities face especially deep challenges due to low income, low density, and difficult geography. The cases in this chapter demonstrate how leadership by Tribal Governments enables a collective approach, which helps expand both technological and financing options. While the Wrangell, Alaska case shows the potential of broadcast technology for connecting villages across islands, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma showcases an effort in broadband adoption to extend Internet into affordable housing communities in a rural ten-county area of the reservation. This chapter emphasizes the importance of collective action in Indigenous communities, and the need to address affordability and adoption, not just infrastructure access. It also profiles the role of the US Housing and Urban Development’s ConnectHomeUSA program, designed to facilitate cross-community learning.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Importance of State Policy Design

  2025-07-10

  book-chapterOpen accessSenior author

  We look specifically at state broadband grant programs to draw lessons on policy design and implications for current federal policy. We identify both innovative and conservative state policy approaches and explore differences across metro and rural communities. Using data from the Pew Charitable Trusts on broadband grant programs from 17 states, we find states primarily funded fiber broadband projects, and local Internet Service Providers, but few funded electric cooperatives or municipal operators. To address the digital divide, state grants primarily went to low-density and rural counties, but recipient counties also tended to be more educated, have smaller minority population and lower poverty. Thus, local capacity and race still matter. In addition, some states have high grant match requirements, which can increase the disparities faced by rural providers and low-income and minority communities. We recommend policy reform to ensure state funds reach communities less likely to be served, and to promote participation of non-traditional broadband providers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A New Policy Window to Center Digital Inclusion

  2025-07-10

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This book has outlined the major issues in extending broadband in rural, low-income, and minority communities, and has articulated the implications for future policy. This book has shown the various ways in which states play a critical role in rural broadband deployment – how they distribute funds, and how they regulate broadband deployment. In this chapter, we articulate a digital inclusion framework that centers public values to support equity at the redistributional, procedural and conceptual levels. We call for a shift in conceptual values that recognizes digital inclusion as foundational to broad social and economic well-being. Procedurally, this requires state and federal policy to address market failure and support local initiatives, such as the cases outlined in this book. We have shown how local coalitions explore innovative ownership models and partnerships, which should be supported in state and federal policy design. Redistributional equity means we must close gaps by class, race, age, gender, and geography. This requires attention not only to physical infrastructure access, but also to affordability and adoption. Closing the digital divide is a collective effort that calls for coordination across all levels of government, and cooperation with local actors, especially as federal funding makes new investments possible.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Xue Zhang

  Cornell University

  45 shared

• Germà Bel

  Barcelona School of Economics

  20 shared

• George C. Homsy

  19 shared

• Austin M. Aldag

  14 shared

• Amir Hefetz

  13 shared

• Yunji Kim

  12 shared

• Marcela González Rivas

  8 shared

• John W. Sipple

  8 shared

Education

• PhD, Development Sociology

  Cornell University

  1997