About the Institute
Faculty & Staff
Lorraine V. Klerman, Director
Areas of expertise: Maternal and child health; child welfare; children's policy issues; family planning; teenage sexuality, pregnancy, and parenting;health care access, prenatal care
Areas of expertise: Social policy and management, emphasis on leadership and management innovations with mission driven organizations and businesses
Areas of expertise: Theory and analysis of social policy; theory of social justice; theory of social change; theory of violence; reorganization and redesign of work conducive to human development; social work and social welfare: theory and practice
Areas of expertise: Effective social policies and program practices that can address the problems that arise when vulnerable populations -- especially adolescents -- live in persistent poverty settings. Advises foundations and donors on effective grantmaking strategies and heads the new Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy.
Areas of expertise: Acculturation and adaptation/mental health; racial discrimination, minority status, oppression; immigrant minority youth; the immigrant paradox
Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson '80, PhD '06
Areas of expertise: Health disparities, racial and ethnic issues, reproductive health
Areas of expertise: Methodology/research design/evaluation research; mental health programs/interventions; evaluation of polygraph/lie detector testing; socio-demography of the Jewish community; Jewish identity and education
Marji Erickson Warfield, PhD '91
Areas of expertise: Children and youth with developmental disabilities and special health care needs; family adaptation; longitudinal studies; program evaluation
Student Research Associates
Susan Butler
Ms. Butler most recently worked in Charlotte, NC as an Infant-Toddler Specialist for the state of North Carolina, and has a great deal of experience working with young children and their families. Within ICYFP, she is currently working on a project examining funded research projects from the Adolescent Family Life program at the Office of Publication Affairs. Ms. Butler holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and Child Study from Smith College, and a Master's degree in Child Development from Tufts University.
Hannah Karpman
Ms. Karpman was a program director for an inpatient mental health facility for adolescents and continues to work as the director of residential operations at Germaine Lawrence in Arlington, MA. Ms. Karpman holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and English from Mount Holyoke College. Ms. Karpman's research interests include the intersection of child welfare, judicial, and behavioral health care systems.
Rachel Lessem
Ms. Lessem most recently worked as a family law attorney for legal services representing survivors of domestic violence. While in private practice, Ms. Lessem co-wrote an amicus brief for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and also co-wrote a chapter for the Massachusetts Citizens for Children's “Children’s Benchbook." In addition to her J.D., Ms. Lessem also holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. Ms. Lessem is currently working with Dr. Klerman on the evaluation of MSPCC’s Connecting Families program and with Dr. Warfield on a study of working parents of children with special health care needs.
Miranda Waggoner
Ms. Waggoner is a joint doctoral student in sociology and social policy. Her work with ICYFP focuses on reproductive health and maternal and child health. She has worked as a research assistant and teaching fellow, and has taught courses in the Sociology Department at Brandeis University. She is currently working on a project about the predictors of rapid subsequent pregnancies among teenage mothers. Ms. Waggoner holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Government, and a Master's degree in Social Policy.