Experts

Meet our Experts! Connect with thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who are experts in their field. Click below to view their profiles, follow their activity on the site, and contact them for more information.

 

Rebecca Friendly

Age of Learning / ABCmouse.com

Rebecca is the Manager of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Age of Learning, Inc. The company’s flagship product, ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, is the leading and most comprehensive digital early learning resource for children ages 2–8. Her responsibilities include overseeing Age of Learning’s Education Access Initiatives, which provide ABCmouse at no cost to teachers and community institutions such as libraries, Head Start programs, public housing authorities, and afterschool programs. With a background in marketing, communications, and public policy, Rebecca is passionate...

Susan Popkin

The Urban Institute

Susan J. Popkin, Ph.D. is both Director of The Urban Institute’s Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development and a Senior Fellow in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. A nationally-recognized expert on assisted housing and mobility, Dr. Popkin directs a research program that focuses on the ways neighborhood environments affect outcomes for youth, and in conducting evaluations of complex community-based interventions. She is the Director of the HOST Demonstration and HOST Network and co-Principal Investigator for the evaluation of the Casey Foundation’s Family-Centered...

Abra Lyons-Warren

Council of Large Public Housing Authorities

Abra Lyons-Warren is the Director of Cross-Sector Initiatives at the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) where she leads the Housing Is Initiative, an effort aimed at better aligning housing with other systems like education and health to improve life outcomes for low-income individuals and families. Abra previously analyzed and advocated for housing, education, place-based, early childhood, and dual-generation initiatives with the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Illinois Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie's office. She also served low-income and homeless individuals at...