The Penn Futures Project was launched in 2016 as a cross-disciplinary initiative spearheaded by the Deans of all three schools—Penn School of Nursing (SON), the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), and the Graduate School of Education (GSE). As the program grew, the Penn Futures Project appointed two Faculty Directors, Dr. Vivian Gadsden (GSE), and Dr. Terri Lipman (SON), to spearhead the Penn Futures Project vision, expand its reach in the community, and oversee its projects. The Deans of all three schools, Dean Pam Grossman of GSE, Dean Sara Bachman of SP2, and Dean Antonia Villarruel of SON, continue to guide the work of the Penn Futures Project, while affiliated faculty and staff members across Penn’s professional schools work to fuel its projects. Penn faculty and staff collaborate with community partners, stakeholders, students, and government agencies to implement these innovative programs aimed at addressing the complex issues facing Philadelphia children and families.
Sara S. Bachman, PhD is Dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice at… Pam Grossman is the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and the George and… Dr. Villarruel’s research focuses on interventions to reduce sexual risk behaviors among Mexican and Latino…People & Partners
Leadership Team
Vivian Gadsden, EdD
Faculty Director, Penn Futures Project; William T. Carter Professor of Child Development and Education; Graduate School of Education
Terri Lipman, PhD, CRNP, FAAN
Faculty Director, Penn Futures Project; Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition; Professor of Nursing of Children; Assistant Dean for Community Engagement; Interim Program Director, Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program; School of Nursing
Deans
Sara S. Bachman, PhD
Dean, School of Social Policy and Practice
Pam Grossman, PhD
Dean, Graduate School of Education; George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education
Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing; Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; Director of the School’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership
Penn Futures Project Affiliated Faculty & Staff
Katherine Barghaus, PhD
Executive Director, Penn Child Research Center; Senior Research Investigator, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy Network; Graduate School of Education
Deborah Becker, PhD, ACNP, BC, CHSE, FAAN
Practice Professor of Nursing; Director, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist program, & Adult Oncology Specialty Minor
Cynthia Anne Connolly, PhD, RN, FAAN
Rosemarie B. Greco Term Endowed Associate Professorship in Advocacy Associate Professor of Nursing; Co-Faculty Director, Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research, School of Social Policy & Practice; Associate Director, Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing; Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; School of Nursing
Dennis P. Culhane, PhD
Professor; Dana and Andrew Stone Chair in Social Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy; Director of Research, National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans; School of Social Policy & Practice
Erin Cross, PhD
Senior Associate Director, Penn’s LGBT Center; Lecturer, Graduate School of Education; Senior Fellow, Nursing’s Center for Global Women's Health
Michael Johanek, EdD
Senior Fellow; Director, Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership; Director, Penn Educational Leadership Simulations Program (PELS); Graduate School of Education
Antonio Garcia, MSW, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice; Co-Director, Child Well-Being & Child Welfare (CW2); Specialization Chair, Racism Sequence
Amy Hillier, PhD
Director, MS in Social Policy Program; Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice; Associate Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, PennDesign
Marsha Richardson, PsyD
Lecturer, Human Development and Quantitative Methods Division; Graduate School of Education
Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; Assistant Professor in Nursing in Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine
Caroline Watts, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Director of School and Community Engagement, Human Development and Quantitative Methods Division; Graduate School of Education
Allison Werner-Lin, PhD, AM, LCSW
Assistant Professor; Adjunct Investigator, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology And Genetics; Director, Social Work in Health Care; Specialization Chair, Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice; School of Social Policy & Practice