Staff & Faculty

A world-class team of faculty and staff working on world-changing ideas.

Led by founding Director, Neal Halfon, MD MPH, the Center has assembled an outstanding team of faculty and staff who bring diverse and tested talents, as well as a wide range of disciplines and perspectives to the Center’s work. Housed at UCLA, one of the preeminent research universities in the world, the Center’s transdisciplinary approach is critical to solving the complex and entrenched problems faced by children and families.

Together, we're building a future where all children thrive.

The Center is a joint effort of the David Geffen School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Our team also includes faculty from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Policy & Social Research, School of Law, and the College of Letters and Sciences. Established in 1996, the Center is housed at UCLA, one of the preeminent research universities in the world. As a public university with extensive resources, the potential for University’s positive impact on the lifelong health of all Californians is tremendous. On the UCLA campus alone are education, public policy, business, law, medical, and public health schools – all with significant expertise in various areas related to children’s health and development, and all contributing to the groundbreaking thinking and work at the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities.

Center Faculty

Neal Halfon, MD MPH

• Director, Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities
• Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Distinguished Professor of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
• Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Elizabeth Barnert, MD MPH

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Rebecca Dudovitz, MD

• Associate Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Chief, Division of General Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Director of Health Services Research, Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Daniel Eisenberg, PhD

Professor of Health Policy of Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Todd Franke, PhD MSW

• Director, All Children Thrive
• Professor of Social Welfare and Doctoral Program Chair, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Karen Hunter Quartz, PhD MA

• Director, UCLA Center for Community Schooling
• Faculty, UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

Vickie Kropenske, PHN, MSN

Director, Hope Street Family Center

Alice Kuo, MD PhD

• Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Professor of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
• Chief of Medicine, Pediatrics, UCLA

Judith L. Perrigo, PhD

• Research Director, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities
• Assistant Professor of Social Welfare, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Mark Peterson, PhD

Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law at UCLA

Shirley Russ, MB ChB (Hons) MPH MD

Senior Project Scientist, Life Course Translational Research Network

Marisa Saunders, PhD

Associate Director for Research, UCLA Center for Community Schooling

Adam Schickedanz, MD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Moira Szilagyi, MD PhD

Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Peter Szilagyi, MD MPH

Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Mitchell Wong, MD PhD

Executive Vice Chair for Research Training, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Frederick Zimmerman, PhD

• Professor of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
• Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Center Staff

Center Scholars

Arnold Chandler, MS

President and CEO, Forward Change Consulting

Wendy Lazarus, MS

• Senior Fellow, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families & Communities
• Co-Founder, Kids Impact Initiative

Edward Schor, MD

Senior Vice President for Programs and Partnerships, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health