As founder of the Minneapolis-based Research in Action, Brittany Lewis has built an organization dedicated to research grounded in reciprocal relationships with communities; hundreds of families have trusted Lewis, a Black feminist scholar and activist, with their experiences of injustice. Her work has been used in a Minnesota Supreme Court case to expand rights for tenants, and she has helped create the City of Minneapolis’ tenant rights ordinance and its Housing Advisory Council; helped end Hennepin County’s policy requiring shelter guests pay to stay; and supported the creation of the Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Office. In May 2026, she published her book Building a New Table: A Community-Centered Handbook for Transformative Social Change.