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Former Obama administration official to speak on child welfare, Oct. 22

Please join us for the inaugural Bobby Boyd Leadership Lecture, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, 5:45 p.m., at the UNC School of Social Work. This event is free and open to the public.

Bryan Samuels, executive director of Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and former commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will speak on “Leadership, Evidence and Accountability in Child Welfare.”
The lecture will be in the auditorium of the Tate-Turner-Kuralt building (School of Social Work) at 325 Pittsboro St. on the UNC campus. Parking will be available in the deck of the FedEx Global Education building on the corner of Pittsboro and McCauley Streets.

About the Speaker

Bryan Samuels is the executive director of Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, a research and policy center focused on improving child well-being. A national leader in child welfare, Samuels was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2010 to serve as commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While in that role, he administered federal programs addressing child abuse and neglect, runaway and homeless youth, teen pregnancy, and domestic and intimate partner violence. Prior to ACYF, Samuels served as chief of staff at Chicago Public Schools. He also served as the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the third largest child welfare agency in the country. Samuels has testified before Congress about the well-being of children in foster care and has presented and written on topics including the impact of trauma on child outcomes and using evidence-based interventions to address maltreatment.

About the Bobby Boyd Leadership Lecture

UNC School of Social Work alumnus and Board of Advisors member Bobby Boyd, MSW ’69, received a Distinguished Alumni Award in May 2009. He retired in Oct. 2008 from a 30-year career as director of Catawba County Social Services.

The lecture is made possible by the Bobby Boyd Leadership Fund at the School of Social Work, which was established by Boyd’s former staff at the Catawba County Department of Social Services, the Social Services Board and Catawba County Commissioners. With the purpose of sustaining Boyd’s vision of focusing on results and excellence in public service, the fund supports leadership development and opportunities for UNC School of Social Work students.