Bryan Samuels, M.P.P., brings deep policy expertise and ties to Voices of Youth Count. Prior to his appointment as Chapin Hall’s Executive Director, he served as Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he spearheaded the development of an intervention framework for ending youth homelessness by 2020 and has long been an advocate for the concept of a national estimate of unaccompanied homeless and runaway youth as a critical first step toward solutions for this population. Bryan also previously served as the Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, where he commissioned important policy research by Chapin Hall on runaway and homeless foster youth.

Dr. Matthew Morton, D.Phil., is a Research Fellow at Chapin Hall and an expert in youth development, program evaluation, and policy research. He has special interest in youth participation, runaway and homeless youth issues, and juvenile justice and violence. Matt is principal investigator of the national Voices of Youth Count policy research initiative. Matt has worked as an Advisor in the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, and was a key contributor to the development of the national strategy to end youth homelessness. He has worked internationally and domestically on youth and family policy as an Economist for the World Bank, a researcher at the University of Oxford, a consultant to the European Commission, and a Fellow in the Eckerd Family Foundation and the US Senate. In addition to his general oversight of VoYC, Matt is leading two initiative components: the national survey of youth homelessness and housing instability and a systematic evidence review of interventions for runaway and homeless youth.

Amy Dworsky, Ph.D., a Research Fellow at Chapin Hall, is widely recognized as an expert on pregnancy and parenthood among youth in foster care, the transition to adulthood among youth aging out of foster care, and youth homelessness. Amy is currently the principal investigator for an evaluation of a home visiting pilot program for pregnant and parenting youth in foster care and is part of a team that is preparing for the “next generation” evaluation of independent living programs for current and former foster youth. As a member of the Voices of Youth Count, she is playing a leading role in several of the research components including the provider survey, the analysis of the brief youth survey data, the policy and fiscal review, and the evidence review. She is also involved in the household survey and the analysis of supplementary data.

Sonali Patel, M.S.W., brings extensive policy experience to her roles as a Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall and as project director for Voices of Youth Count. Sonali has worked on vulnerable children and family policy issues throughout her career including service at the federal level on the White House Domestic Policy Council, as well as at the Administration on Children, Youth and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she engaged on issues related to unaccompanied homeless and runaway youth including developing the preliminary intervention model and framework to end youth homelessness. Additionally, she was instrumental in developing the public-private partnership with philanthropy to support a demonstration project on the intersection of family homelessness and child welfare involvement.

Gina Samuels, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration and is the leader of the Voices of Youth Count in-depth youth interviews. Gina designed and executed a critically important qualitative interview pilot for Voices of Youth Count in Chicago that steered the final design of the interviews. Gina is also contributing across the initiative on how the implementation of the research and qualitative and quantitative data that is collected can be integrated to rigorously and fully elevate youth voice. Gina’s deep experiences in qualitative research and child welfare have made her a national expert in the field. Her scholarship explores experiences of youth who run away from foster care, and the development of identity, belonging, and relational permanence for youth aging out of foster care and transracially adopted persons of mixed race heritage.

Jennifer Vidis, J.D., is a Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall with an extensive background in policy and program development at the local level in large public systems, with a focus on improving educational and life outcomes of at-risk adolescent and vulnerable youth. Jennifer serves as the Voices of Youth Count project co-director where she is overseeing and managing the budget and communications of the initiative. Prior to joining Chapin Hall, Jennifer served as the Executive Director of the Office of Education Options at the Chicago Public Schools. In that role, Jennifer led the development and execution of a strategy to expand and improve the district’s alternative school programs and supports for out-of-school and at-risk adolescent youth.