Expert Directory
child welfare system, Child Welfare, Youth Villages, YVLifeSet, Foster Care, mental health and children , behavioral health and children, child welfare system reform, transition-age youth, Nonprofit, Tennessee child welfare system
Patrick W. Lawler is chief executive officer of Youth Villages, one of the largest private providers of services to troubled children and their families in the country. Under his leadership, Youth Villages has established an array of specialized treatment programs operated by an effective team of more than 3,000 employees and services across 16 states. Youth Villages’ mission is to help children and families live successfully. Since 1980, Mr. Lawler has served as CEO of Youth Villages, which has grown from serving 25 youth daily to 4,600, offering hope to more than 26,000 children and families each year. With an emphasis on the importance of family, program intensity, outcome measurement, community-based services and being accountable to families and funders, Youth Villages’ area of service has expanded across Tennessee, and to Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Most recently, the organization embarked on an innovative partnerships approach to increase available access to Youth Villages intensive program for young adults aging out of foster care, YVLifeSet. In addition to direct care services in current locations, YVLifeSet is now offered by high-quality partners in jurisdictions in Washington, Pennsylvania and New York. In 2006, U.S. News & World Report recognized Mr. Lawler as one of “America’s Best Leaders” in conjunction with the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2009, Harvard Business School completed a case study examining Youth Villages’ growth and impact, and exploring the organization’s innovative treatment approach, use of research in program development and targeted growth strategies. The case was written for inclusion in an HBS course called “Leading and Governing Highly Effective Nonprofit Organizations,” which teaches what it takes to be an organization that does innovative and highly effective work. Mr. Lawler is a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and Columbia University about the Youth Villages approach. Also in 2009, the White House cited Youth Villages as an example of “effective, innovative non-profits” that are “high-impact, result-oriented” organizations. The White House listed Youth Villages with three other organizations that offer “promising ideas that are transforming communities.” Mr. Lawler’s entire career has been spent working with society’s most vulnerable children and young adults. He began as a counselor at Tall Trees Guidance School when he was 18 years old and then worked at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County for five years before becoming CEO of Youth Villages.
Dr. Tim Goldsmith, Ph.D., Marriage & Family Therapy, University of Southern California
Chief Clinical Officer
Youth VillagesChild Psychology, child welfare system reform, Suicide Prevention, Child Abuse Prevention, trauma-informed therap, multi-systemic therapy, Foster Care, child behavioral problems, Child Behavior, mental health and suicide, Mental health and teens, mental he
Dr. Tim Goldsmith has been a member of the Youth Villages executive staff since 1989. As the chief clinical officer, he provides leadership and supervision in the development and implementation of all clinical models and interventions. Dr. Goldsmith has direct responsibility for the clinical, research and evaluation, placement services and performance improvement and compliance departments. He has been intimately involved in the development and implementation of evidence-based programs at Youth Villages, including trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy, Multisystemic Therapy, Collaborative Problem Solving and other outcome-based strategies. Dr. Goldsmith holds a bachelor of science degree in sociology from Lambuth College and earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy from the University of Southern California. He has served a gubernatorial appointment to the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, been a member of the national advisory council of the Children in Managed Care Initiative of the Center for Healthcare Strategies (funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation), and has served as an advisor board member for MST Services. His professional publications include the Children’s Mental Health and Research Policy conference, Blueprints Conference, Florida Child Welfare conference and the Alliance for Children and Families conference.
Research, data, outcomes and effectiveness research, Foster Children, mental health and children , transition-age youth
As Managing Director – Data Science for Youth Villages, Sarah Hurley, Ph.D., is responsible for the management of research activities across the organization. She supervises the outcome evaluation process that tracks thousands children and youth after they leave Youth Villages’ programs. She also manages funded research projects, develops research-based policy recommendations, and presents research results nationwide. Dr. Hurley began her career in the biostatistics division at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, held several positions at the Ohio Department of Health, and served as interim executive director of an AIDS service organization. She also taught at the undergraduate level for 12 years at the University of Michigan-Flint, Pittsburg State University and Arkansas State University. She earned her doctorate degree in health outcomes and policy research from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2008.
English, Religion, Poverty, Education, Separation of church and state in American public education
Jill Heinrich is a Professor of Education. She taught high school English for eleven years, and her research interests include religious literacy and separation of church and state in American public education, masculinity studies, comparative education in Belize, and poverty and education. Heinrich teaches an off-campus course in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye in the country of Belize. Academic History PhD in English Education, University of Iowa, 2001 MS in Secondary School Administration, University of Iowa, 2000 MS in English, Illinois State University, 1989 BA in English, Northern Illinois University, 1985
Immigration, Migrants, Mexico
Julián Jefferies is assistant professor in the Department of Literacy and Reading Education at California State University, Fullerton. He is interested in the daily lives of immigrant youth in schools and their representation in the media. Focusing on the experiences of undocumented youth, his research uncovers how society as a whole and schools in particular deal with the migration status of their students and how meritocratic ideologies work to justify the opportunity gaps for Latina/o youth in education. He has published on the framing of immigrant youth in public opinion and is currently working on research that alerts educators in K-12 institutions and policymakers on how to best serve undocumented youth in their schools. He is also interested in the pedagogy of international and experiential learning opportunities and coordinates a summer program in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where he investigates how students gain cross-cultural competence and re-think their national, gender, ethnic and cultural identities. Assistant Professor of Literacy and Reading Education Director, Puerto Rico International Education (PRIE) Program Director, Guadalajara Transnational Migration Program Faculty Coordinator, Elevar Scholars, SOAR Grant
Jeremy Grace, MA
Lecturer, Dept of Political Science and Internatio
State University of New York at GeneseoDemocratization, Refugee, Refugee Protection, Post-conflict elections
Jeremy Grace has been a member of the Geneseo faculty since 2000. He is also the coordinator of the International Relations program. He is a lecturer of international relations and director of the IR program at SUNY Geneseo. He received his M.A in International Affairs from American University in Washington DC in 1995. Prior to joining the Geneseo faculty in 2000, he worked for four years designing democratization and elections programs with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and East Timor. He has published studies and discussion papers for the IOM, IFES, and the World Bank, and served as Senior Advisor to the IOM Political Rights and Enfranchisement System Strenthening project aimed at protecting the political rights of refugees and conflict-forced migrants. As part of the project, he has provided technical assistance related to peacebuilding, refugees, and democratization to national governments and international organizations through field assessments to Kosovo, Liberia, Uganda, Nepal, and Afghanistan, among others.
Sexting, Consent, healthy relationships, Intimacy
Dr. Aaron Cooper, PhD at The Family Institute at Northwestern University, is available to comment on the behaviors of healthy sexting. Dr. Cooper earned his doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago, following a three-year internship at the Loyola Guidance Clinic. Prior to that, he received a Master of Arts in Teaching from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) from Harvard University.
Movies, Therapy, Therapist, Portrayal
Dr. Fisher earned his PhD in Counseling Psychology at Indiana University. His primary area of expertise is in working with couples. His main approach to treating relationships is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). He also provides discernment counseling, designed to assist “couples on the brink” in having greater clarity and confidence in the decision-making process about divorce, and to better understand prospects for restoring and improving their marriages. To speak to Dr. Fisher about common misconceptions about mental health treatment or the stereotypes of mental health professionals portrayed in movies, or to learn more about The Family Institute, please contact Cyndi Schu, Director of Public Relations, at cschu@family-institute or 312-609-5300, ext. 483.
Caregiver, Caregiver Burden, Caregiver Coping, Mental Health, Well-being
Dr. Medrano is a licensed clinical psychologist and member of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Couples Consultation groups at The Family Institute. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. He specializes in the care of depression and mood disorders, stress management, and coping with chronic health conditions and disabilities. To speak to Dr. Medrano about caring for the caregiver, or to learn more about The Family Institute, please contact Cyndi Schu, Director of Public Relations, at [email protected] or 312-609-5300, ext. 483.
politic, Mexico, Latin America, social movements, Democracy
Harvey teaches Mexican Politics, Comparative Politics, Resistance Movements in World Politics, Contemporary Political Thought, Comparative World Political Ideologies and an Honors course “Citizen and the State: Great Political Issues.” Since 2008, he has also taught a service learning class concerning social justice on the U.S./Mexico border. He is author of several books and articles on rural development, social movements and indigenous peoples in Mexico
multidimensional scaling, psychological construct, word perception
Hout’s research interests fall under the broad heading of visual cognition, including research into visual attention and memory, and computational models of both. Other research interests include (but are not limited to): development of alternative methods for multidimensional scaling, similarity as a psychological construct, working memory, and spoken word perception. Here’s a link to a video about what they do in his lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2JqxzrqNJ8
Molecular Mechanisms, sense nutrients
The Hansen lab does cutting-edge applied- and basic research in molecular biology, molecular physiology, signal transduction, and cell biology of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and other blood-sucking arthropods.The models we use for our research projects are the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, and the West-Nile-Virus mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. We are also involved in several genome projects for other insects. We are primarily interested in the molecular mechanisms by which cells and tissues sense nutrients and in response activate signal transduction pathways which regulate expression and/or deactivation of mosquito genes. A second focus of the Hansen lab is on the regulation of water homeostasis in mosquitoes. We also have multiple ongoing successful collaborations with other groups in physiology, entomology, vector biology, physics, computer science, electrical engeneering, on and off-campus on related topics including sterile insect technique.
Cancer, Bone Marrow Transplant, Neoplasm, Neoplasms, luekemia, tissue donation, Pathology
Mark is the Queen's Lead of the £5M Medical Research Council-Cancer Research UK funded Stratified Medicine in Colorectal Cancer Consortium (S:CORT), a UK-wide consortium investigating novel precision medicine approaches in colorectal cancer(CRC). His international reputation in CRC was instrumental in his leading a Critical Gaps in Colorectal Cancer Research Initiative, recently published in the high impact factor journal Gut; this landmark publication has attracted significant global attention (his podcast had the most “hits” of any article in the journal) Mark is Queen's Lead of the Health Data Research UK Substantive Site, one of only 6 in the UK, which aims to drive innovative precision medicine and public health approaches through the use of Big Data. He is also national lead for Cancer Strategy for HDR-UK. Mark was co-chair of the Cancer Task Team of the Clinical Working Group of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), an international cooperative dedicated to effective and responsible sharing of genomic and clinical data. He has authored a number of key papers including a blueprint for cancer date sharing (published in Nature Medicine) and a road map/call to action for a Global Cancer Knowledge Network in the New England Journal of Medicine Mark has published over 180 papers in international peer review journals, including key papers in the highest impact journals (New Engl J Medicine, Lancet, Nature Medicine, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Discovery, Nature Comms, Gut etc). He is co-lead of an ambitious proposal to develop a Global Innovation Institute in Belfast which will include the One Health Innovation Centre (OHIC), the world’s first Health and Agri-Food Informatics Innovation Centre. Mark’s work has been recognised by a number of national/international awards including the Vander Molen Prize for Leukaemia Research, the Ely Lilly Prize, the St Lukes Medal for Cancer Research and the Graves Medal for Medical Research. He is frequently invited as a guest speaker to international conferences and sits on a number of high level boards/committees at European level including the European Alliance for Personalised Medicine, the Scientific Board of the European Cancer Patient Coalition and the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) Oncopolicy Forum Mark has a strong commitment to patient-centred research/care and to addressing cancer inequalities. He was the architect of the European Cancer Patient's Bill of Rights (BoR), a catalyst for change and empowerment tool for cancer patients which he launched in the European Parliament on World Cancer Day 2014. The BoR has been adopted across Europe and led to the 70:35 Vision, 70% survival for all cancer patients in Europe by 2035 which was recently adopted by ECCO, the largest interdisciplinary cancer organisation in Europe. Mark’s advocacy work was instrumental in the recent decision to include boys in national UK HPV vaccination programmes. He is also committed to the provision of optimal pathology and laboratory medicine for citizens in resource-limited settings and was senior author of a recent paper in The Lancet as part of The Lancet Series on Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Low- and Middle- Income Countries.
Brexit, Ireland, EU, Peace Process, Northern Ireland, borders research, conflict analysis, Conflict, post-conflict
Dr Katy Hayward is one of the leading political sociologists on the island of Ireland, and is a Reader in Sociology, and Senior Research Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast. Dr Hayward’s research focuses on conflict/post-conflict transitions and is actively interdisciplinary, traversing fields of border studies, conflict studies, European studies, and Irish studies. This means that she is particularly well-placed to speak about the implications of Brexit for the island of Ireland, and Northern Ireland in particular, European integration, political violence, and the application of discourse analysis.
Matthew Davis, MD, MAPP
Population Health Expert
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagoChild Health, Population Health, Child Health Policy, Medicaid, Vaccines, Lead Poisoning, Violence
Matthew Davis, MD, MAPP, is Division Head of Academic General Pediatrics and Primary Care at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Associate Chief Research Officer for Health Services and Policy Research at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Lurie Children’s. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. His research focus is on population health, with particular emphasis on the family context and impact of local, state and federal policies on child and family health. Before coming to Lurie Children’s, Dr. Davis was at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Michigan, where he was quoted often in the media as the expert on the impact of the Flint, Michigan water contamination crisis.
Food Allergy, Food Allergies, Asthma
Ruchi Gupta, MD, is an Attending Physician, Academic General Pediatrics and Primary Care, at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Gupta also is the Director of the Science and Outcomes of Allergy and Asthma Research Team (SOAAR). Her clinical interests are in the areas of asthma, food allergy, and eczema. She is involved in clinical, epidemiological, and community research. She has been nationally recognized for her research in the areas of food allergy and asthma epidemiology.
Immigrant Farmworkers, Migrant Farm Workers, Driver's Licenses, immigrant communities, Immigrant Families, Medical Communication, medical plurality, Chile
Professor Guzmán is a linguistic and medical anthropologist. Her present research focuses on how Latinx immigrant farmworkers in New York talk about mobility, vulnerability, and well-being. Guzmán has also conducted research on medical interaction in Chile and the United States.
Gene Editing, CRISPR, Lung Cancer Treatment, Cancer Diagnositics
Eric B. Kmiec, Ph.D., is well known for his pioneering work in the fields of molecular medicine and gene editing. Since 2014 he has directed the Gene Editing Institute of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute at Christiana Care Health System. Under Dr. Kmiec’s leadership, the Gene Editing Institute has become a leader in gene editing and biomedical research in cancer and other inherited disease. It is the only institute of its kind embedded in a community cancer center where interactions among oncologists, genetic counselors and patients take place. This unique collaboration brings translational cancer research – from innovative basic science directly to patient treatment – to an entirely new level. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Kmiec has led research teams studying the reaction mechanics, biochemistry and molecular genetics of gene editing in human cells. His early work with sickle cell disease led to research and development of the next generation of gene editing tools, including CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) and to even more promising variations such as single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides (ssODNs) for the treatment of inherited disorders. In April 2018, the team announced a major new development in the CRISPR Journal of the first CRISPR gene-editing tool to allow DNA repairs outside the human cell. The new “cell free” technology uses a protein called Cpf1 or Cas12a, that allows researchers to make multiple edits to DNA samples quickly and more precisely in vitro, that is, in a test tube or petri dish. This capability has generated unprecedented excitement about developing different CRISPR tools that could produce breakthrough treatments for a wide range of diseases by repairing a damaged gene, modifying it or deleting it entirely. Thanks to a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation in 2017, the Gene Editing Institute is collaborating with Delaware Technical Community College to develop the first-ever gene editing curriculum for community college students in Delaware and across the nation. Collaborations with public and private partners are working to accelerate the drive to personalized cancer care. They include an agreement in 2017 with Israeli-based NovellusDx that leverages innovative gene editing technology to find gene mutations amenable to customized gene editing treatments for cancer patients, as well as efforts to commercialize an automated chip-based platform for the latest CRISPR/Cpf1 system for use in cancer diagnostics. In 2016, Dr. Kmeic and colleagues at The Gene Editing Institute described in the journal, Scientific Reports, how they combined CRISPR with short strands of synthetic DNA to greatly enhance the precision and reliability of the CRISPR gene editing technique. The new tool, called EXACT (excision and corrective therapy) serves as both a template and a bandage for repairing a malfunctioning gene. To accelerate breakthrough cancer research in the human genome, the Gene Editing Institute entered into an agreement with The Wistar Institute in 2016. This partnership integrates the Gene Editing Institute into Wistar’s Molecular Screening Facility, which will allow its innovative gene editing technologies to be made available to research projects at Wistar and to external users. Dr. Kmiec is the recipient of multiple research awards from the National Institutes of Health (RO1s, R21s), the American Cancer Society, the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation and other private foundations including the 2012 Proudford Foundation Unsung Hero Award in Sickle Cell Disease. He has been a member of numerous editorial boards, NIH study sections and review boards and is the (primary or corresponding) author of more than 155 scientific publications (mostly in genetic recombination and gene editing). He holds 18 issued patents, most of which have been licensed by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and has founded two biotechnology companies. He is a senior scientific advisor and SAB member of ETAGEN, a gene editing company located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, centered on the development of therapeutic uses of gene editing. Dr. Kmiec has been the primary mentor for 18 Ph.D. students and 4 MS students, all of whom have attained scientific positions. He has held or holds major administrative posts on various NIH regional and state biomedical research grants, including IDeA Network of Biomedical Research (INBRE) and Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). Dr. Kmiec was also honored as the Eminent Scholar in residence at Marshall University (Huntington, West Virginia) in 2009-2011 and was elected as an Honorary Commander of the 436th Air Wing at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware for in 2013 and again in 2014. Dr. Kmiec earned his B.A. from Rutgers University, his M.S. from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida School of Medicine.
Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH
Adolescent Medicine Expert
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagoLgbt, transgender children, Adolescent Medicine, Sexuality, HIV
Robert Garofalo, MD, MPH, is the Division Head of Adolescent Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is a Co-Director of Lurie Children’s Gender and Sex Development Program, the first comprehensive program for gender nonconforming children and adolescents in the Midwest. Dr. Garofalo also directs Lurie Children’s Adolescent/Young Adult HIV Program and the Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention, which conducts research on topics in adolescent sexual health, gender, sexuality, HIV prevention and health disparities affecting adolescent and young adult populations at risk of acquiring HIV. He is a national expert on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) health issues in youth, as well as adolescent sexuality and HIV clinical care and prevention. Dr. Garofalo is the former President of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. In 2010, he served as a committee member for the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities.
Landon Westfall, Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology, B.S. Biology
Associate Director, Influenza
Southern ResearchInfluenza, Influenza Vaccine, influenza outbreak, Flu Season, Flu Shot, Drug Development, Vaccine Development
Landon Westfall, Ph.D., is a bacteriologist, virologist, immunologist and molecular biologist with 15 years of experience in researching medically-relevant pathogens at both pre-clinical and clinical levels. As associate director of Influenza, he is responsible for overseeing the influenza virology program, both in vitro and in vivo, at Southern Research. He leads the support effort for pre-clinical studies and clinical sample testing by designing and executing validations or qualifications for immunogenicity assays, and managing sample analysis in partnership with both commercial and government clients. In addition, Westfall has experience conducting GLP regulated general safety toxicology studies for newly discovered influenza vaccines in support of regulatory submissions to the FDA. Prior to joining Southern Research in 2015, Westfall was principal investigator and study director at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, a BSL3+/ABSL3+ contract research organization, where he successfully conducted a GLP-compliant animal model qualification for an aerosolized Tier-1 Select Agent in nonhuman primates. He supervised and performed a broad range of procedures using novel and standard techniques and methods, including refining a number of animal models using both viral and bacterial species. Viral animal models were primarily mouse and ferret influenza models using seasonal, pandemic and highly pathogenic avian influenza strains. Influenza studies included testing new vaccine platforms and antivirals for efficacy on newly emerged and pandemic influenza strains. Westfall is a member of the American Society of Microbiology. He earned his doctorate in medical microbiology from Texas Tech University (TTU) Health Sciences Center and his Bachelor of Science in biology from TTU.
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