Lauren is a doctoral student in the College of Social Work. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in hospitality administration from Florida State University in 2015 and her Master of Public Administration and Master of Social Work from Florida State University in 2021. Prior to her doctoral studies, Lauren worked in grants management, data management, and education roles for statewide programs focused on survivors of trafficking and domestic violence.

Shamra Boel-Studt is an assistant professor with expertise in child welfare. She is also a faculty affiliate of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare. Her research interests include interventions related to at-risk youth, family-centered practice, residential youth care, youth trauma and victimization, intervention research, social policy, improvement of measurement and evaluation of children’s services and quantitative methods.