Improving the Outcomes of Students in Foster Care:
Spreading Promising Policies and Practice
May 27, 2015
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
MaryLee Allen is the Director of Child Welfare and Mental Health and Acting Policy Director at the
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). At the Children’s Defense Fund, Ms. Allen is responsible for defining
and carrying out CDF’s agenda to keep children safe in nurturing families and communities. Her work
involves a range of activities designed to improve policies and practices to better support families to
prevent problems from occurring and family crises from intensifying and to promote permanent families
for children. Ms. Allen has played a leadership role in the development, passage, and implementation of
major child welfare and children’s mental health reforms for more than three decades. She co-chairs a
coalition of national child welfare and mental health organizations and works regularly with advocates
and service providers across the country. She testifies frequently before Congress. Ms. Allen is the
author of many articles and publications, including Helping Children by Strengthening Families: A Look at
Family Support Programs, Healing the Whole Family: A Look at Family Care Programs, Healthy Ties: Ensuring
Health Coverage for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: A Look at Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment
in the States, Expanding Permanency Options for Children: A Guide to Subsidized Guardianship Programs, and
Kinship Care Resource Kit for Community and Faith-Based Organizations. Ms. Allen has served on numerous
boards, and on many commissions and task forces dedicated to improving protections and supports for
vulnerable children and their families.
Annie Blackledge currently works with Casey Family Programs. Most recently Annie was on a 4 year
assignment from Casey Family Programs with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career,
Technical and Adult Education. The focus of her work with the Department was on vulnerable student
populations, including foster youth and disconnected youth populations. Prior to joining Casey Family
Programs, Ms. Blackledge was Program Supervisor for Dropout Reduction with the Washington State
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). In this position, she was responsible for the
development and oversight of a statewide dropout reduction program that demonstrated significant gains
in the academic achievement of vulnerable students, the creation of Dropout Early Warning and
Intervention Data System, and the staffing of a State-level, interagency legislative workgroup. Previously,
Ms. Blackledge served as Education Program Manager for the Washington State Children's
Administration, Department of Social and Health Services. In this position, she was responsible for
implementing school stability legislation and the development and oversight of programs, policies, and
procedures relating to education (preschool through postsecondary) for foster children. Annie has over
17 years of experience in education and youth services and an extensive background in serving vulnerable
youth; child welfare; dropout prevention, intervention, and reengagement programming; collective
impact; and policy and program development.
Sarah Bolton is the Education Policy Director for the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Sarah advises Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) and
Members of the Committee on early childhood, elementary and secondary, and higher education issues.
Prior to her time with the HELP Committee, she was a Senior Budget and Policy Advisor for the Senate
Budget Committee, leading the Committee’s work on issues related to education, poverty, and nutrition.
Sarah also served on Senator Murray’s personal staff for four years. Sarah is a native of North Carolina,
has a B.A. in English from Appalachian State University, and a M.Ed. in Higher Education and Student
Affairs from the University of South Carolina.
JooYeun Chang is the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau. President Obama recently
appointed Ms. Chang as the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau. Recently celebrating its
centennial, the Children’s Bureau is the oldest Federal agency for children. Ms. Chang administers over
$7 billion in Federal Programming to support the Nation’s child protection, Foster care, Guardianship
and Adoption programs.
Prior to her appointment to the Children’s Bureau, Ms. Chang was the Senior Director of Public Policy
at Casey Family Programs where she worked closely with state and county child welfare leaders to
improve and enhance child welfare practice and with Congress on opportunities to improve national
child welfare policy. Prior to Casey Family Programs, JooYeun served as Senior Staff Attorney for the
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Her areas of expertise in federal and state policy include child abuse
and neglect, foster care and adoption, children’s mental health, child welfare financing, and kinship care.
She has authored several publications; worked to educate congressional staff about child welfare policies
designed to protect children and support families; and identified and promoted best practices in child
welfare and related issues.
JooYeun is a member of the Maryland State Bar; a former board member for the National Foster Care
Coalition and chair for the Policy Committee of the National Foster Care Coalition; and a former
member of the Generations United Policy Committee. She received her J.D. from University of Miami
School of Law where she was a Harvey T. Reid Scholar and her undergraduate degree from North
Carolina State University.
Marc Cherna has served as Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS)
for over eighteen years. In that role, he has implemented system-wide changes that have resulted in
significant improvement in outcomes for vulnerable children and families. Under Mr. Cherna’s direction,
the DHS has received numerous awards including the Innovations in American Government award
given by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s Kennedy
School of Government. He has also received many personal awards including the Casey Family
Program’s first Lifetime Achievement in Child Welfare Leadership Award, The American Public Human
Services Administration’s Betsey Rosenbaum award for Excellence in Child Welfare Administration and
the Coleman award for Excellence in Community Service from the Institute of Politics. He serves on
numerous boards and committees, including the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work’s
Board of Visitors, the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics Board of Fellows, the Executive
Committee of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, and the Mayor of
Philadelphia’s Community Oversight Board.
Marc began his career in human services as a youth worker over 40 years ago. He has extensive
experience in the field, including 13 years as an Assistant Director with the New Jersey Department of
Human Services.
Jesse Hahnel is Founder and Director of FosterEd, an initiative of the National Center for Youth
Law that improves the educational outcomes of students in foster care. Mr. Hahnel has served as a public
school teacher in Washington DC and New York City, as Senior Analyst at the KIPP Foundation, and as
an attorney working to ensure at-risk children receive the educational supports and services they need.
Mr. Hahnel graduated Harvard University magna cum laude, Stanford Law School order of the coif, and
has been named a State Bar of California Pfeiffer Scholar, a Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest
Fellow, a University of Michigan Bergstrom Child Welfare Law Fellow, and a Skadden Foundation
Fellow. In recognition of his work on behalf of foster children he is one of seven national Fellows
2
supported by The Mind Trust. He is the author of numerous publications, including The Other Achievement
Gap: Court Dependent Youth and Education Law, published June, 2012, in the Journal of Law and Education.
After a national search, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) recently named FosterEd one of
15 exemplary initiatives found to help foster youth thrive.
Rob Hofmann recently began his second term as judge of the 452nd Judicial District Court of Texas,
having previously served for twelve years as judge of the Child Protection Court of the Hill Country. He
has presided in over 12,000 dependency hearings and adoptions in fifteen Texas counties. Judge
Hofmann has presented at numerous national conferences and served as faculty for the National Center
for State Courts. In 2011 he was named Texas CASA judge of the year. He is a member of the Texas
Supreme Court Children’s Commission and, after serving as chair of its Implementation Task Force for
The Texas Blueprint: Transforming Education Outcomes for Children & Youth in Foster Care, was recently named
as chair of the Commission’s newly created Education Committee. He also serves on the Texas Foster
Care Redesign Public Private Partnership. He and his wife are former foster parents. He is a graduate of
Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University School of Law.
April Kopp works as a psychotherapist and graduate intern supervisor at UCAN, where she specializes
in the treatment of complex trauma in youth and families. She has been working with children, foster
parents, and natural parents involved in the Illinois child welfare system since 2008. She received her MA
in Clinical Social Work from the University of Chicago and her MFA in Writing from the University of
Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She also provides psychotherapy to children experiencing grief, loss, or
parental divorce/separation through the Barr-Harris Children’s Grief Center of the Chicago Institute for
Psychoanalysis.
UCAN has served vulnerable children and families in Chicagoland since the Civil War and served 10,000
children and families last year. UCAN’s vision is, “Youth who have suffered trauma can become our
future leaders.”
Kathleen McNaught has spent 13 years with the American Bar Association Center on Children and
the Law providing training and technical assistance around the country on a variety of legal child welfare
issues, in particular issues related to the educational needs of children in foster care. Kathleen brings her
passion for improving education advocacy for children in foster care to her role as Project Director for
the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, a collaboration of the ABA, Juvenile Law Center and
the Education Law Center-PA. Kathleen works closely with states and local jurisdictions to help them
overcome education barriers for children in care. She is most proud of efforts that have prompted
significant federal and state legislative changes and local policy and practice improvements. Kathleen led
the creation of the Blueprint for Change: Education Success for Children in Foster Care, a framework that guides
states and entities to identify areas for reform and implement change.
She has authored several publications, including Learning Curves: Education Advocacy for Children in Foster
Care, and Mythbusting: Breaking Down Confidentiality and Decision-Making Barriers to Meet the Education Needs of
Children in Foster Care. Kathleen has also written on the issue of achieving permanency for older
adolescents in care including a guide for judges and attorneys. Prior to joining the Center, Kathleen
spent 7 years practicing law in the state of Maryland. She was a staff attorney for Maryland's Legal Aid
Bureau in their Child Advocacy Unit. She then went on to private practice, representing parents and
children in child welfare cases, as well as in education, delinquency and custody matters.
Rheba Misters works as a youth development coach at UCAN. She facilitates violence prevention
workshops, intensive leadership institutes focused on positive youth development, and Phenomenal
Woman groups, which support healthy relationships, self-esteem, and self-image for young women of
color in Chicago. Rheba is working towards her BA in Human Resource Management at University of
Phoenix. She is the proud mother of her two year old daughter, Zuri, and finds time to volunteer on a
3
monthly basis with a local food pantry. She became a ward of the state at age three, experienced several
placements, and upon emancipation, was awarded an internship at UCAN that taught professionalism
and leadership development skills.
Isabel Soto joined the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in June of 2014 as
a Confidential Assistant to Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Mitsui. Prior to her appointment at the U.S.
Department of Education, Isabel worked in various policy environments in her field. Most recently,
Isabel worked as a program assistant in public policy at the Greater Houston Partnership in Houston,
Texas. There, she coordinated grassroots advocacy strategies for chamber of commerce, economic
development, and governmental organizations.
Prior to working for the Greater Houston Partnership, Isabel worked as a legislative assistant at the
Texas House of Representatives, first in the office of State Representative Eddie Lucio, III and later in
the office of State Representative Armando Walle. Isabel also worked as a legislative assistant for the
Texas Senate in the office of State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. In these offices, Isabel worked closely with
legislative and state agency staff, constituents, and stakeholders in the passage of legislation related to
public education, workforce conditions, quality of life, health care and juvenile justice.
Isabel holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Houston.
Erika Torres is the Director of Pupil Services and Dropout Prevention and Recovery for the Los
Angeles Unified School District. She currently oversees over 450 social workers and counselors and 18
administrators in a unit that is dedicated to addressing child welfare and attendance issues. Erika has
held many positions that have served the socio-emotional needs of students and their families.
Additionally, Erika has been involved in pioneering initiatives addressing the dropout crisis through the
implementation of a multi-tiered system of interventions, initiatives, and policies. Erika took an integral
role in the development of the Attendance Improvement Program that now serves as a National Model
for combatting chronic absenteeism in early grades. In addition, Erika has led the creation of the
component in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP)
which addresses the needs of students in foster care.
Johan E. Uvin joined the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in December
2009 as senior policy advisor to Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier. In 2011, Uvin was appointed
to the position of deputy assistant secretary for policy and strategic initiatives. In that capacity, he
coordinates all policy and strategy development for OCTAE. This office is responsible for the
Department's adult education portfolio, including corrections and reentry education, secondary,
postsecondary and adult career and technical education, and community colleges.
In 2012, Uvin assumed additional responsibilities as the acting director of the Policy Research and
Evaluation Services Division of OCTAE and the co-chair of the Interagency Forum on Disconnected
Youth, a multi-agency federal collaboration to improve the outcomes of disconnected youths. Since
2010, he has also been a member of the steering committee of the Domestic Policy Council's New
Americans Citizenship and Integration Initiative, which developed a framework for federal efforts on
immigrant integration. Uvin further leads the Department's Pay for Success work and coordinates the
Department's responsibilities related to the implementation of the Presidential Memorandum on JobDriven Training. In May 2014, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan named Uvin acting assistant
secretary for OCTAE.
Prior to his appointments at the Department, Uvin led the Rhode Island state office that oversees adult
education, career and technical education, and GED testing. He also held several leadership positions in
education and workforce development in both the public and private sectors.
4
Uvin holds a doctorate in administration, planning and social policy and a master's degree in international
education from Harvard University. He also holds a Master of Arts in teaching English to speakers of
other languages (TESOL) from the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vt.
Uvin is married to Alison Simmons and has two young adult twin sons. When not in D.C. he resides in
Roslindale, Mass.
5