Children, Youth and Families Concentration

Jessica Chaikof is a doctoral student in the Children, Youth, and Families concentration. Her research interests center in disability policy, in particular chronic illness, disability, and accessibility in higher education. Chaikof earned her MA in Sociology Research & Practice from American University and her BA in sociology along with a minor in chemistry from Wheaton College (MA). Currently, she is a co-investigator on a study examining the everyday impact of endometriosis on college students. In addition, Chaikof has been working closely with the Immigration Lab at American University in looking at how immigration and disability status intersect and play a role in accessing critical resources such as education, healthcare, and employment. Her experiences of living with a disability not only motivate her research but also are a strength that shapes and guides it.

Anna Clements is a doctoral candidate interested in exploring institutional causes of the school to prison pipeline for people of color with mental or cognitive disabilities. During her undergraduate studies, she served on University of Michigan’s Council for Disability Concerns, and she has presented on disability rights in the US and abroad. Before coming to Heller, Anna completed a master’s degree in international human rights law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, Ireland, interned at the Centre for Disability Studies in Hyderabad, India, and worked in the US with nonprofits focusing on racial justice, immigrant rights, and disability services.

Jenny is a PhD candidate in the Children,Youth and Families concentration. Jenny received a BA from Carleton College and an EdM from Harvard University. Her research seeks to apply Critical Race Theory, critical geography, and practice theory to analyses of social problems and social policy. Her work considers how built and social space are constitutive of a raced and classed social structure, and how these spaces facilitate the reproduction or disruption of inequality. Additionally, she is interested in how current social policy’s market logics interface with social structures to shape outcomes for historically and contemporarily minoritized individuals. Her recent research examines how: privatization impacts educational opportunity; residential segregation influences children’s exposure to disease and chronic health conditions; the parents of Black and Latinx students view inter-district school desegregation programs; and the impact of neighborhood contexts and resources on outcomes for public school students with disabilities.

Read more about Jenny LaFleur's research here. 

Megan Pamela Ruth Madison is a PhD candidate concentrating in child, youth, and family policy.  She received an MS in early childhood education from Dominican University and a BA in studies in religion from the University of Michigan.  Her research interests include education policy, the teaching workforce, and racial equity.  Her mixed-method dissertation employs Critical Race Theory to explore the impact of "colorblind" policymaking on the racial/ethnic diversity and stratification of the early care and education teaching workforce.

Shaakira Parker is a doctoral student in the Children, Youth, and Families concentration. Her interest areas include early childhood policy, in particular the role of public policy in preventing and mitigating early childhood adversities for Black and low-income children, as well as the interconnection between family and neighborhood context, racial inequities, and healthy child development. Prior to pursuing her doctorate degree, Shaakira worked as an associate program officer in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she worked on a study focused on improving the child and adolescent healthcare system. Before that, she worked as a policy associate in the Child Health Advocacy Institute and the Early Childhood Innovation Network at Children's National Hospital, where she focused on policy, advocacy, and systems change to improve the public behavioral health system for children and families in the District of Columbia. Shaakira holds a Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science degree in child development from Vanderbilt University. 

Roberto S. Salva is the current Sol Chick and Rosalind B. Chaikin Endowed Fellow in child and family policy. He holds an MPA from the National University of Singapore and a BS in Statistics from the University of the Philippines. Before coming to Heller, he led the EU-funded baseline study on child participation in the ASEAN and the ASEAN Member States; drafted guidelines on child participation for the deliberation of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Women and Children; peer reviewed the Philippine study on violence against children, and consulted for various nonprofit organizations including The Asia Foundation, Save the Children and Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation. Before that, he led a nonprofit organization for the deaf in the Philippines for six years and worked with urban poor communities through research and community organizing.

Kaitlin Stober is a PhD student in the Children, Youth, and Families concentration. She is interested in research that centers the voices, experiences, and perspectives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly as it relates to inclusion in education and the community. Kaitlin serves as a Senior Research Specialist at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Institute on Disability and Human Development. There, she co-led the development of UIC’s Co-Op program, a fully inclusive and credit-bearing college program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She holds a MS in Disability Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and a BA in Sociology and Art from Elon University.

Armando Vizcardo is a doctoral candidate in the Children, Youth, and Families concentration. Armando received a Master’s in Public Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UMass Boston. His research focuses on immigrants’ access to social safety net programs, assessing social inequities and its impact on the racial wealth gap, and examining how traditional welfare policies can work tangent with asset-building interventions. Prior to his candidacy, Armando worked at Abt Associates evaluating a range of social and public programs focused on housing, education, workforce development, and financial capability.