Sophia T. Anong
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at USAID 2021-22 | Associate Professor
206 Charles Schwab Financial Planning Center
407 Sanford Dr.
Athens, GA 30602
Address:
129 Stuckey Building UGA Griffin Campus
1109 Experiment Street
Griffin, GA 30223
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Family and Consumer Economics | Purdue University | 2006 |
| M.S. | Agricultural Economics | Purdue University | 2003 |
| B.S. | Agriculture & Natural Resources | Africa University, Zimbabwe | 1997 |
Research
- Mobile money and digitized services in African countries.
- Consumer complaint handling and redress in African digital markets
- Fintech and digital divide for low-income, minorities, unbanked, and other vulnerable groups
Contactless payments and the payment divide
Prior Professional Positions
| Organization | Title | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia | Assistant/Associate Professor | 2010-present |
| Virginia Tech | Assistant Professor | 2006-10 |
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty Seed Grant in the Sciences | Office of Research, UGA | 2020 |
| Global Research Collaboration Grant | Office of Research, Office of Global Engagement, UGA | 2019 |
| Undergraduate Academic Advisor Award | College of Family and Consumer Sciences, UGA | 2015 |
| Sarah H. Moss Fellowship - Cameroon | Center for Teaching and Learning, UGA | 2014 |
| Sarah H. Moss Fellowship - Zimbabwe | Center for Teaching and Learning, UGA | 2012 |
| Dissertation Award | Western Family Economics Association, USA | 2007 |
Editorial Appointments
| Position | Name of Journal | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Editor | Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal | 2018-20 |
Service
| Organization | Title | Year(s) | Service Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Association of Family & Consumer Sciences | Board member | 2020-21 | Student Unit Advisor |
| American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences | Awards Chair | 2019-21 | Family Economics & Resource Management community |
| Georgia Association of Family & Consumer Sciences | Board member | 2015-17 | Resource Development |
| American Council on Consumer Interests | Board member | 2015-17 | Membership and Marketing |
Outreach
Public Storage launches contactless move-ins for peace of mind
Mobile financial apps won't do the work for you
Contactless payments surge during COVID-19
Fintech and Financial Inclusion (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
Current Research
- Science & Technology Policy Fellow: Digital Ecosystem Advisor at the United States Agency for International Development
- Pan-African Research Council
- Randomized evaluation of increasing the number of female mobile money agents in rural Ghana. Expected outcomes include increased overall agency for women personally, in shared households, and in their communities, increased consumer agency, and a decrease in fraud which has been found to be highest among female agent to female customer interactions.
- Involved with two projects that study the accelerated adoption of contactless payments during the pandemic:
- Our multidisciplinary team surveyed U.S. consumers and small business owners and also incorporates discrete payment choice experiments with both groups. The purpose is to detect digital and payment divides, attitudes, and identify any linkages with localized factors such as payment infrastructure, COVID-19 infection rates, and reopening guidelines.
- The other project is an intervention with over 900 small businesses across the U.S. This is a randomized evaluation that examines the effect of offering payment systems education on new adoptions or expansions of remote or in-store contactless payment systems. Two bills that are still to be deliberated in Congress, the Payment Choice Act of (2019; 2020; 2021) and the Touchless Transactions Act of 2020, are also implemented, hypothetically, and their potential impact on merchant adoption is examined. In addition, the study incorporates the self-explicated method to assess merchant preferences for payment system attributes such as QR code reader, cash acceptance, and fee structure. The study oversamples businesses with no more than 25 employees and ethnic minority owners. Operational adjustments and COVID vaccination are also considered.
Job Description
UGA Leave of absence - September 2021-22