Ali Jawetz

View Ali’s condensed bio here.

At CSSP

I primarily work with the team that monitors child welfare systems facing class-action litigation, which entails working with states to implement best practices on child welfare reform, assessing progress by reviewing data, interviewing stakeholders, and meeting regularly with system leaders, and providing progress reports to the federal court and the public on the status of reform work. I also support the Youth Thrive initiative, which is a framework that uses research on adolescent brain development to improve the ways child welfare and juvenile justice systems interact with adolescents (up to age 26). I serve on CSSP’s internal Equity, Inclusion, and Justice team, and work with staff and external partners to apply our Anti-Racist Intersectional Frame. Finally, I co-lead CSSP’s Data for Equity project, which promotes best practices for collecting, analyzing, and using data on personal identity (including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, tribal affiliation, etc.) in more accurate, inclusive, and affirming ways, so that system leaders can better incorporate that information into making decisions that meets families’ needs.

I do this work because

I am committed to addressing the injustices many families involved with child welfare and juvenile justice systems have faced, and am inspired by the possibility that these intervening public systems can be transformed to be more supportive and responsive to families’ needs.

I am most proud of

Founding the Cornerstone Summer Institute, a summer program at the University of Virginia for high school students to study the history of slavery and its legacies in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Work History

• Research Fellow, “Pay for Success” Social Entrepreneurship Lab, University of Virginia
• Research Assistant, Booz Allen Hamilton

Education and Awards

• M.A. in Public Policy, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia
• B.A. in American Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia

When the day is done

In my spare time, I enjoy relaxing in New York City parks, tutoring young people, kickboxing, and going to stand-up comedy shows.