Alexa Aburto is dedicated to ensuring that all families receive the best supportive services to meet their needs. As a program specialist at Evident Change, she designs and implements Community Response Guide tools, which aim to help mandated reporters make more accurate, consistent, and fair decisions about reporting suspected child abuse and neglect. Alexa also
Robena Spangler is a transformational leader whose career spans more than three decades in human services and leadership development. She has held leadership roles across direct service organizations, public agencies, associations, and consulting firms, consistently advancing strategies that strengthen organizations and the people they serve. Her expertise includes presence-based leadership coaching, organizational development, and program
Kara supports the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance’s work in building partnerships with parents, including the Birth Parent National Network (BPNN), Birth Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC), and Birth and Foster Parent Partnership (BFPP). Kara also served as the co-chair of the Alliance National Parent Partnership Council (ANPPC). Kara uses the knowledge she has gained from her
Ashley McHose is the knowledge and research specialist at Social Current, where she helps social sector organizations build capacity and operational excellence through critical research support. Ashley received her master’s of library and information science from McGill University and has over a decade of experience leading library teams, projects, and programs in the US and
Claire Crowley joined Evident Change in 2018, where she continues her work to support improved outcomes for youth and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Prior to this, Claire’s work at the Center for Court Innovation supported implementation and evaluation of an alternative detention program that served young people with mental health
Masha is a mixed-methods applied researcher and evaluator. She loves applied research because it helps communities and makes a real impact on people’s lives. She has 10 years of experience working on evaluations on child welfare, criminal justice, peace and conflict, and public health. Masha has worked for international and domestic government and for-profit and
Dr. Siqi Wang is a program evaluator and social services researcher with a doctorate in quantitative methods and sociology of health from the University at Buffalo. Her work focuses on implementation science, program evaluation, and systems transformation to better serve children and families in crisis. Throughout her career, Dr. Wang has applied mixed-methods approaches to
Jim McKay is the public policy director for the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance, where he leads national advocacy to strengthen families, build community-based supports, and promote child and family well-being. He also directs Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia, a project of TEAM for West Virginia Children. He has over 30 years of experience in public
Dr. Charlyn Harper Browne is a former senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy, where for 16 years she was responsible for contributing to the research, theoretical, and training components of projects related to young children, youth, parents, and families. Dr. Browne has expertise in child and adolescent development, resource development,
As the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance’s national director of parent partnerships, Meryl leads multiple parent partnership projects including the Birth Parent National Network (BPNN), the Birth and Foster Parent Partnership (BFPP), and the Casey Family Programs Birth Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC). She is actively engaged in the Alliance’s training and technical assistance activities, including helping
