Hyun-Seok (Edward) Cheon
Research Specialist for Public Engagement
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About
Hyun-Seok (Edward) Cheon is a Ph.D. Candidate and Adjunct Instructor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago and serves as Research Specialist for Public Engagement at the Great Cities Institute. He earned his B.A. in Social Welfare with a minor in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on advancing effective research collaboration and public engagement, with an emphasis on connecting research, communities, and institutions to support meaningful and accessible knowledge exchange. At GCI, he contributes to research and engagement initiatives examining how research can be effectively shared, translated, and applied in partnership with communities, organizations, and civic stakeholders across Chicago. He also supports the dissemination of research through accessible visual and digital communications that broaden public understanding and engagement with urban research.
Edward’s academic research focuses on interorganizational collaboration within social service systems, with his dissertation examining how professionals coordinate across organizational boundaries to support individuals experiencing serious mental illness. Using qualitative methods and interpretative phenomenological analysis, his dissertation explores how case managers navigate fragmented service systems, build connections across organizations and professional roles, and promote continuity of care. Drawing on boundary spanning theory, his work examines how frontline practitioners bridge organizational, institutional, and professional boundaries to facilitate collaboration within complex service systems.
Through both his research and professional practice, Edward is committed to understanding and strengthening the ways researchers, communities, and institutions collaborate. His work brings together scholarship, public engagement, and knowledge dissemination to support more accessible, collaborative, and community-centered approaches to urban research and development.