Panelists:

• Lawrence (Lonnie) Berger is Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in the Social Sciences, Sheila B. Kamerman and Alfred J. Kahn Professor of Social Policy, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School of Social Work, and former Director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on the ways in which economic resources, sociodemographic characteristics, and public policies affect parental behaviors and child and family wellbeing.
   
• Tia Dickerson completed her PhD in sociology at Howard University in May 2024. She is currently a postdoc with the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Her research bridges social inequality, family sociology, sociology of race, mental health, and COVID-19. Tia’s research broadly focuses on the role of structural racism in shaping the health and efficacy of Black families. 
   
• Yusef Presley Jr. is a lived expert and national advocate for child welfare and justice reform, drawing from his own experiences in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. He works to center youth voices in policy change and currently leads initiatives focused on family permanency, mental health, and equitable outcomes for system-involved youth.
   
• Cadon Sagendorf is from Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is currently pursuing a degree in psychology at the University of Utah. Cadon’s work is focused on addressing the intersectionality of mental health within the child welfare system. He works both on the state and national level to drive policy reform and improve outcomes for youth impacted by foster care. 
   

Related Research: Young adult health and mental health at age 22

Sponsored by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy in collaboration with the Columbia Population Research Center and the Princeton University Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child and Family Wellbeing.

We are grateful for the funding support from Hilton Foundation.