Mengya Wang

Mengya Wang, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science and an Extension State Specialist with the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (OCES). She is an applied economist whose work focuses on framing, developing, and evaluating Extension educational programs in the areas of family and consumer economics and personal finance.

Dr. Wang’s research centers on prevention-oriented approaches to building financial security across the lifespan. Her work emphasizes financial socialization—how families, schools, and communities shape the development of healthy financial behaviors early in life—and how these early foundations influence financial capability and resilience in adulthood.

She is particularly interested in understanding how individuals can be better prepared for unexpected life events, such as caregiving responsibilities, financial shocks, divorce and major health or family transitions. Much of her current work examines the challenges that emerge in midlife and older adulthood, and how early financial development interacts with later-life circumstances to shape long-term financial well-being.