CICC July Knowledge Exchange - Improving Benefit Access and Utilization for Children and Their Families Experiencing Poverty

She leads a team of highly skilled and committed analysts who apply research evidence, policy analysis, and critical thinking to increase the effectiveness of human services policies and programs and improve the wellbeing of the most vulnerable Americans. She provides executive leadership and coordination of HHS’s human services policy development, analysis, research, and evaluation on issues including poverty, equity, economic support, human services program integration, early childhood education, child welfare, family strengthening, and youth development. Her office coordinates the Children’s Interagency Coordinating Council and the Interagency Council on Economic Mobility where she serves at the HHS Executive Lead. Previously, she was the first Director of Program Innovation in the HHS Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), where she managed program development, including competitive grants, national evaluations, cross-program collaboration, and strategic planning. She also served as the Senior Advisor to the OCSS Commissioner, helping to lead execution of a new family-centered, evidence-based approach to child support enforcement nationwide. In her more than 25 years at HHS, she has developed national child support legislation and managed influential research on child support and family policy, as well as national evaluations of fatherhood and family strengthening initiatives. She guided the establishment of the National Center for Marriage Research and served as its first Program Officer. She began her federal service as a Presidential Management Intern in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Her prior experience includes working for the Minnesota Commission on the Economic Status of Women and the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. She holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College in Women’s Studies and Political Science and a M.A. from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with concentrations in Policy Analysis and Gender and Public Policy.

Kirk currently manages over 80 million dollars in investments intended to create, implement, and evaluate initiatives that will improve the employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities. Kirk supervises a team of policy advisors with subject matter expertise in workforce development, career pathways, youth leadership, family engagement, education, and systems coordination. Prior to coming to ODEP, Kirk worked in the state of New Jersey operating youth programs, trained youth direct care professionals, prepared organizations for accreditation processes and served on the State’s workforce board as their disability, youth and adult literacy policy expert.

She works on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, paid leave, and other budget issues. Romig previously worked at the Social Security Administration, Social Security Advisory Board, and Congressional Research Service. She began her career as a Presidential Management Fellow, during which time she completed an assignment at the Office of Management and Budget. Romig has a master’s degree in social policy from University College Cork, Ireland, where she was a George J. Mitchell Scholar, and a B.A. from Michigan State University’s James Madison College.

Her portfolio includes customer experience, artificial intelligence, data and technology. Anna joined ACF from the DC Department of Human Services, where she most recently served as the Deputy Administrator for Permanent Housing, overseeing the agency’s permanent housing voucher programs and a division of 90 people. Previously, she served as the deputy chief of staff, where she played a central role in the agency’s COVID-19 response and helped design and launch DC’s benefits cliff pilot program, Career MAP. Career MAP is a groundbreaking, 5 year pilot program serving 600 families who had recently experienced homelessness. Prior to her work in DC, Anna was a vice president at Social Finance, a national nonprofit that partners with state and local governments to improve outcomes by scaling evidence-based practices and tying payment for services to outcomes. She has a Master’s in Public Affairs from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

She coordinates FRAC’s state work on healthy school meals for all and is a frequent speaker on the topic at state and national conferences. Through her federal policy work, Alexis is an advocate for the federal nutrition programs, particularly school breakfast and lunch. She also serves on Minnesota’s Hunger-Free Schools Coalition. Prior to her work at FRAC, Alexis was Senior Public Affairs Manager at ClearWay Minnesota, managing the organization’s local policy grant and distributing an average of more than $1 million annually to local public health organizations and nonprofits. Alexis has a B.A. in Political Science from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a master’s in science in Public Policy and Management from Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA where her thesis “Rethinking the School Food Environment at Pittsburgh Public Schools” evaluated the School Meals Program in Pittsburgh and offered recommendations for improvement.

Most of her research focuses on how to improve government by focusing on its people and the services they deliver. Specifically, she uses insights from behavioral science and evidence from public management to consider how to recruit, retain, and support the government workforce, how to improve resident-state interactions, and how to better integrate evidence-based policymaking into government. Her research has been published in various academic journals including Nature Human Behaviour, Econometrica, The Journal for Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Public Administration Review, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Behavioural Public Policy, and others. Her work has also been highlighted in media outlets including The New York Times, The Financial Times, Forbes Magazine, The Huffington Post, NPR, Slate, and the Harvard Business Review. Prior to joining the Harvard Kennedy School faculty, Linos has been an assistant professor at UC Berkeley; the VP and Head of Research and Evaluation at the Behavioral Insights Team in North America; and policy advisor to the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, focusing on social innovation and public sector reform. Linos has been named one of the 100 most influential academics in government by Apolitical and was the 2023 recipient of the David N. Kershaw award "established to honor persons who, before the age of 40, have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management."

She is an enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservations and currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri, where she is a Cash Operations Manager at a casino. She is a wife and mother of three girls. Jillian’s middle child is wheelchair bound. This thrusted Jillian into advocating and lending her voice to help the disabled community. She has most recently been organizing parents with the Parent Power Lab, focusing on Special Education. She has championed for children with special needs on the local, state, and national government levels. Jillian was appointed to the Kansas City Mayor’s Committee for Peoples with Disabilities in 2021. She also sits on the Board for Eitas, a quasi-governmental agency supporting those with developmental disabilities in Jackson County, Missouri. Jillian Serves on the Board of Directors for the National Parent Union and sits on the Special Education Advisory Panel of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Jillian believes that advocacy and support is a vital function for the disabled and most marginalized communities. She hopes that her unique perspective of raising a child with physical disabilities positively impacts as many people as possible.

Monica is a Community Development Specialist for San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, where she assists low-income families with accessing resources to meet their needs for housing, economic mobility, securing healthy foods, vital documents, medical service and more. Monica works closely with families who are unhoused, in foster care and living in subsidized housing. She connects the children and families to Requity Scholarships that provide families 100% cost coverage for programs provided by San Francisco Recreation and Parks, such as summer camps, sports, enrichment, swimming and after school services among many others. Monica knows Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are prevalent in the communities she serves. She believes creating a trusting relationship is the foundation to change children’s health outcomes by buffering their ACEs. Monica has secured supportive funding in the community for academic scholarships, first time home ownership programs, and most recently launching a guaranteed income pilot for families in HopeSF’s former public housing sites. Monica is trained in Trauma Informed Systems, Social Justice Practices and Youth Led Organization. She is a certified meditation leader, beginner level BIPOC yoga instructor and trainer for Search Inside Yourself. Monica was an elected San Francisco Local and City-Wide Public Housing Tennant Association member and a resident consultant for HopeSF. Monica holds degrees in Cosmetology Associates Science and Interdisciplinary Social and Natural Science Associates Arts from Skyline College. She graduated from SFSU 2024 with a Public Health Bachelor of Health Science major, Holistic Health minor/ certificate with emphasis in recreation, parks, and tourism focus.

She supports whole family practice by coordinating cross-agency work, system-wide adoption of policies, programs and approaches that benefit whole families, specifically young children, and the adults in their lives. As the Two-Gen Systems Manager, Hatton-Moore established and facilitates the state’s first Family Voice Council which provides opportunities for the families served to influence cross-agency policies and procedures impacting their daily lives. In addition, she is the project manager for the Palmetto Pre-K and First 5 SC portals, which are integral to the state’s Preschool Development Grant goal of developing a seamless way for families with young children to find and access programs and services that meet their children’s health, educational, and developmental needs. Hatton-Moore previously served as the Executive Director of the SC Respite Coalition. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker and certified Project Management Professional and brings to the new role her extensive background in community health promotion, evidence-based parenting programs, and program management.

His research interests primarily focus on labor and public economics, with an emphasis on poverty and inequality, the impact of government programs, and the economics of education. He worked extensively on a study examining the impacts of increased administrative burdens associated with the automation of welfare caseworker assistance. Dr. Wu earned his PhD in 2021 from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Prior to that, Dr. Wu obtained an A.B. in 2013 from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. Before entering graduate school, Dr. Wu gained experience working at various organizations, including the nonprofit group Ithaka S+R, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and the National Council for Teacher Quality. Additionally, he has contributed as a voting member on the Maryland State Board of Education.

Talethia is a wife and mother of 8. She is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University, where she earned a BA degree in English and is currently earning her MSP in Urban Planning at Florida State University to be awarded next spring. Talethia is known for her work as a grassroots organizer, advocate, and coalition builder in Tallahassee, where she led her community in the Greater Bond Neighborhood in a resident-led planning process to develop the Neighborhood First Plan, adopted by the City Commission and awarded a $6.4M investment, the largest made in a Tallahassee community of color at the time. Talethia is an international speaker, trainer, certified climate justice speaker, and community development expert. Her book, Only Paper Understands, is a reflective journal where Talethia shares and reflects on her intimate relationship with paper through journaling over the years. She is Founder and CEO of TOEdwards & Associates Community Development Firm where she works on statewide, local, and national projects with clients such as Atlanta Federal Reserve, Department of Energy, The Children’s Movement of Florida, and Healthy Start of Florida ECCS, among others. She serves as a translator between communities, government agencies, and non-profits to engage families, reform/transform systems, and create equitable community development. Talethia believes in giving voice to those yet to discover their own voice, strategizing ways to empower and educate to change patterns of poverty and under-achievement, and that the only way to revitalize community is by uplifting people and place simultaneously.

He manages a team of quantitative and qualitative analysts focusing on a wide range of HHS policy areas, including poverty and economic mobility, early care and education, child welfare, and the intersection of substance use disorder and human services programs. Robin champions the use of innovative methodologies to address cross-cutting issues affecting human services programs across the country. For example, his work has shed light on some of the biggest challenges human services face in addressing the opioid crisis, such as accessing evidence-based treatment for families involved in child welfare and child support systems. His team provided analysis to dramatically improve operational efficiency in refugee services, resulting in new grantee reporting and an emphasis on evaluation and analytics. Robin has also been a leading voice in leveraging administrative records and integrated data systems to improve program performance. Prior to joining ASPE, Robin was a senior research analyst and lead statistician in the Office of Research and Evaluation at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Before federal service, he implemented the nation’s largest translation and interpretation policy for the New York City Department of Education and Department of Health. Robin received his master’s in public policy from George Washington University, where he focused on program evaluation.

She focuses on policy/systems change, strategic planning, initiative development, building collaborations across sectors/stakeholders, and facilitating learning communities. She engages at the national, state, and local levels with government, foundations, and intermediary organizations on a range of projects and initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for families. As a consultant for the past fifteen years, Ms. Griffen skills in strategic planning, program development, and implementation resulted in implementation and support for a broad array of projects, including the Southern Cities Economic Inclusion Initiative, Working Students Success Network, the national Center for Working Families model (in community colleges and community organizations), W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s two-generation STEPS Initiative, the Portland Workforce Pipeline Initiative, Making Connections (an initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation), and others. Her policy work has included national and state policy for workforce development, community development, work supports, and anti-poverty policy through her work with foundations, intermediaries, and government. Her work with private industry is focused on health care and includes program development, analysis of the workforce, and establishing workforce tools and strategies. Prior to her consulting work, Ms. Griffen was the founder and director of the Boston Health Care and Research Training Institute from 2000-2006, one of the first career ladders projects nationally. Other previous and relevant work includes directing the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation’s economic development team and strategy and launching a family child care network for Latina child care providers and a business technical assistance and loan financing project.

She joined the Office of Early Childhood in November of 2023 facilitating the 2Gen’s (Initiative) holistic approach to supporting whole families, both children and their caregivers, on a path to economic stability. She formerly held the District Coordinator role with Windsor Public Schools overseeing the Office of Family and Community Partnerships. In this role, she managed the implementation of 5 school-based Family Resource Centers, the Welcome Center & Central Registration, and three elementary school: before care & afterschool programs. Before her tenure with Windsor, she worked for Bloomfield Public Schools in a similar role with emphasis on implementing a STEAM extended day initiative for grades 2-8 and the district’s family engagement strategic plan priority. Her work in public education has been centered on bringing evidence-based models and practices to support family and student success while bridging public-private partnerships. Christina has also worked for several nonprofits in Hartford, her hometown. For these nonprofits she served in multiple capacities focused on youth development, staff capacity development, the implementation of various models and in youth drug and substance abuse prevention programs. She has also served as Secretary on the Windsor Chamber of Commerce Board and as member of the CT Family School Partnership Advisory. Christina is passionate about building systems to improve outcomes for young people and their families. She earned her Master’s in the Social Work Generalist Practice program from Springfield College School of Social Work, MA. Her Bachelor of Social Work and minor in Latino Community Practice is from the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), CT. Christina prides herself on the successes of her two children. Both student athletes, one a graduate of her alma-mater USJ and the other currently in college studying mechanical engineering, Cheyenne-Mone’ and TJ.