Erin M. Espinosa, PhD

Erin Espinosa is Evident Change’s director of research. Prior to joining Evident Change, she served as the director of the Texas Center of the Institute for Innovation and Implementation out of the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work, and as a consultant for the Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch’s Children’s Mental Health Initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She began her career as a case manager at an all-girls juvenile justice facility and then served as a juvenile probation officer before moving on to the state juvenile justice agency in Texas.

In her more than 20 years working in and researching child- and family-serving systems at the local, state, and national levels, Erin has published widely, presented research findings, conducted trainings, provided technical assistance, and undertaken or directed a wide range of implementation- and research-related efforts in juvenile justice and children’s mental health. Her primary research interest is in using and translating data to bridge research to policy and practice.

Erin is a co-principal investigator for the Center.