St. Paul, MN — Welfare Reform — Special Topics — Home

Laura Feig, M.P.P.

Ms. Feig is a social science analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has worked for ASPE since 1989, analyzing policy issues regarding the provision of services to children, youth, and families. She specializes in issues regarding children and families affected by substance abuse and regarding child welfare services in general.
During the welfare reform debate she was responsible for HHS's analyses of proposals relating to substance abuse. In addition, she has directed several research projects regarding substance abuse among welfare recipients. These include an analysis of the prevalence of substance abuse among Aid to Families With Dependent Children recipients and a recent study examining substance abuse treatment outcomes for women receiving welfare. Ms. Feig holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Shelly Gehshan, M.P.P.

Ms. Gehshan joined the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) in October 1996 to work on Medicaid and maternal and child health issues. At NCSL, she manages a training program called the Forum for State Health Policy Leadership. Ms. Gehshan also has a faculty appointment at the Georgetown University Graduate Public Policy Program.
Prior to joining NCSL, Ms. Gehshan served for 6 years as the Deputy Director for the Southern Regional Project on Infant Mortality, where she published research on barriers to substance abuse treatment for women. She is currently completing a consulting project for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism on access to treatment for women in Medicaid managed care.
Ms. Gehshan has a master's degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor's degree in English from Cornell University.

Andrea Kane, M.P.A.

Ms. Kane is the Program Director for Welfare Reform at the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors' Association in Washington, D.C. Her primary focus is welfare reform implementation issues. Over the past 11 years, she has held a variety of policy, fiscal, and program management positions in human services, employment, and training at the State and local levels.
Prior to joining the National Governors' Association in 1996, Ms. Kane held several positions with the Department of Human Development (now Family Services) in Fairfax County, Virginia. This department has responsibility for public assistance, social services, homeless, refugee, and employment and training programs. She previously served as Manager of Research and Communication with the Houston Job Training Partnership Council (now Houston Works), where she coordinated implementation of several pilot projects for target populations and performed a variety of external-relations functions including liaison to the City Council and national organizations.
Ms. Kane also worked in the California Legislative Analyst's Office, where she performed program and budget analysis of employment and welfare programs, including JTPA and GAIN. This work included reviewing the Governor's budget and legislative proposals, producing analyses for use by legislators and the public, and testifying before legislative committees on findings and recommendations.
Ms. Kane attended Smith College and received her bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University. She has a master's degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Georgia T. Karuntzos, M.S.I.R.

Ms. Karuntzos currently serves as a social research associate with Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. She specializes in human resource development and is preparing a doctoral thesis validating a vocational screening instrument for hard-to-employ populations. During the past 5 years, she has served as project manager for a multisite randomized field trial evaluating the effectiveness of enhanced vocational services for methadone treatment clients, and as a project manager for an employee assistance program (EAP) study examining the impact of enhanced services on EAP utilization and workplace outcomes.
Ms. Karuntzos has a master's degree in human resource management from Loyola University in Chicago and a bachelor's degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Purdue University.

Nancy K. Young, Ph.D.

Dr. Young-together with Sidney L. Gardner, M.P.A.-is the cofounder of Children and Family Futures, a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families by providing technical assistance to government agencies, community-based organizations, and schools. Dr. Young and Mr. Gardner are the authors of Implementing Welfare Reform: Solutions to the Substance Abuse Problem (1997), published jointly by Drug Strategies and Children and Family Futures.
Dr. Young currently holds a position with California State University, Fullerton, School of Human Development and Community Service, and serves as a research consultant to the Directorate of the State of California, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. She is also on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Social Work. From 1993 to 1994, she held a position with the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Policy and Social Research, and served as academic coordinator and research consultant to the Directorate of the State of California, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
Dr. Young specialized in social policy issues affecting children of substance abusers during her doctoral studies at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.