Esther Gross is a researcher and racial equity expert at Child Trends, a mission-driven research institute dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. Her work focuses on ensuring that social science research and evaluation are informed by the people they impact. For several years, she has led, designed, and facilitated conversations and trainings on equity. She recently developed training on how to communicate research findings equitably for the federal Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. Her trainings have also been shared with the Child Care and Early Education Policy Research Consortium and the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers. Within Child Trends, she developed a mentoring program where researchers with marginalized identities can connect with others with similar experiences. She has also supported several child welfare research projects and evaluations, including an evaluation of New York state’s efforts to increase recruitment and retention of foster/adoptive parents and a pilot evaluation of Los Angeles County’s efforts to engage relatives to provide life-long support to children in foster care. Her personal experience growing up in foster care and volunteer work as a court appointed special advocate provide her with a perspective that is sometimes missing in child welfare research.
