Research Team

Alexis Krones, MSW
EmPwR Project Director
​School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Child and Family Research Center

​Alexis oversees the day-to-day work of EmPwR and works closely with participants, community partners, and the research team. Participants may hear directly from Alexis or other members of the EmPwR team throughout their time in the project, and she is always happy to help answer questions or address concerns along the way.
Her research interests center on the experiences of families impacted by the child welfare system including how resources and interactions with systems and services shape family wellness. Alexis is especially passionate about centering families’ voices in research and ensuring that what we learn can contribute to more responsive practices and supports for families.
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Alexis Krones- EmPwR Project Director- Su' 24- Current
Dr. Kate Golden Guzman, PH.D.
​Postdoctoral Research Associate
​School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Child and Family Research Center

Kate is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with EmPwR. She interviews caregivers and Intact program staff to learn about their experiences. She also helps organize and analyze study data, shares study findings, and supports junior research staff.  
She has worked in child welfare and human services for over 15 years. During that time, she has come to value work that can do the most good for the most people. This belief led her to a career in evaluation and applied research. Through this work, she has helped communities, organizations, state agencies, schools, and federal clients measure their impact and strengthen their programs. Prior to her work with EmPwR, Kate was a Senior Research Associate in the Child Welfare practice area with the James Bell Association (JBA) providing technical assistance and evaluation expertise to state and Federal clients.   
Kate holds a PhD in Social Work from Rutgers University, a joint MA degree in Child Development and Public Policy from Tufts University, and a BA from Wellesley College in Women’s and Gender Studies. In recognition of her writing and scientific contributions, she received the 2024 Journal of Public Child Welfare Best Article of the Year Award and the 2023 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation.​
Stella Zhu
EmPwR Project Director
​School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Child and Family Research Center
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Stella is a PhD candidate at Rutgers University School of Social Work. Her research interests are in child welfare, reproductive decision-making, and parenting, with qualitative expertise. She received her MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and her BS in human development and family studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Stella’s current work with EmPwR focuses on qualitative data collection and analysis.

Dr. Melanie Nadon, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
​School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Child and Family Research Center

Melanie conducts mixed methods research on the sociopolitical factors that shape social policy implementation and policy outcomes, with a particular focus on how poverty, place, and race influence child welfare policy and child, youth, and parent outcomes in the child welfare system. Melanie’s research is informed by nonprofit child welfare policy practice experience, and she brings an explicit administrative and political lens to her work with the aim of providing applied insights on areas to improve both policy and practice. Prior to her position at Wayne State, Melanie was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Children and Family Research Center (CFRC). Melanie holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, & Practice, an M.P.A. from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, and a B.A. from the University of La Verne.
Seth Wickens-Walther, MSW
EmPwR Project Specialist
​School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Child and Family Research Center
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Seth brings an interdisciplinary background in psycholinguistics, social research, and therapeutic practice. He holds an MSW (2026) and a BA in Linguistics (2024) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research background includes work at Université Paris Cité, UIUC’s Department of Educational Psychology, and two years with EmPWR as a Graduate Research Assistant. Seth bridges his academic research with direct community impact through his experience as a clinical therapist intern. Seth's current work with EmPwR includes administering surveys, data analysis, and coordinating with partner agencies. ​

Research Assistants (UIUC)

Current Graduate Research Assistants

Jessa Kimble
Jessa is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she also received her bachelor's in social work (BSW '26). Jessa began working as an undergraduate research assistant last year (summer '25) and served as an undergraduate intern this past summer ('26). As a research assistant for EmPwR, Jessa assists with coding interview data and conducting qualitative analysis. ​
Maritza Vazquez Barreras
Maritza is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she also received her Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW '26). Maritza was an undergraduate intern at EmPwR in Spring ‘26 and has continued her work with EmPwR since. Maritza supports participants throughout their time with EmPwR from the initial consent process through ongoing communication and support. She helps coordinate calls, texts, email, and mail as well as being available to answer questions or assist with concerns. ​
Nylah Jones
Nylah Jones is a Master of Social Work (MSW) candidate in the Leadership and Social Change
concentration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research and policy interests focus on child welfare, family policy, violence prevention, firearm violence, and public health. Through
interdisciplinary research, Jones aims to advance evidence-based policies that strengthen child, family,
and communal well-being. Jones serves as a Research Assistant within the EmPwR Lab, where she contributes to research observing the relationship between cash assistance and reductions in child abuse and neglect. She is currently developing literature review synthesizing evidence on family fiscal support and family outcomes to inform future policy and practice.

Current Undergraduate Research Assistants
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Sherry Park -Undergraduate Research Assistant - Fa '25- Current
Sherry Park
​Sherry is an undergraduate Social Work student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with research interests in child welfare, family well-being, and behavioral health. As a Research Assistant with EmPwR, she supports quantitative data management and qualitative analysis.

Past Research Assistants

EmPwR Research Team Photos
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EmPwR Reseach Team- Fall 2026 - back from left: John Hernandez, Kaia Wolfe, Rachel Phillips, Maritza Vazquez Barreras, Seth Wickens-Walther- front from left; Janna Fouly, Sherry Park, Jessa Kimble, Scarlett Garcia, Alexis Krones
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EmPwR Reseach Team- Fall 2025 - from left: Seth Wickens-Walther, Kaia Wolfe, Jessie McCoy, Sherry Park, Alexis Krones, Jessa Kimble, Janna Fouly, John Hernandez
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EmPwR Reseach Team- Fall 2024 - back from left: John Hernandez, Colton Straus, Maddie Brown, Seth Wickens-Walther- front from left; Dr. William Schneider, Janna Fouly, Scarlett Garcia, Ethan Kye, Jessie McCoy, Alexis Krones

Consultants

Dr. ​Lisa Gennetian, Ph.D. ​
Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

Dr. Gennetian is an applied economist whose research straddles a variety of areas concerning child poverty from income security and stability to early care and education with a particular lens toward identifying causal mechanisms underlying how child poverty shapes children’s development.

Dr. ​Darcey Merritt, Ph.D. ​
Professor, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, University of Chicago

Dr. Merritt's research focuses on child neglect and poverty and the lived experiences of racially marginalized parents and children impacted by the child welfare system. 

Dr. ​Clark M. Peters, Ph.D. ​
​​Associate Professor, School of Social Work
​University of Missouri

Dr. LaShawnda Kilgore, Ph.D. 
Children's Defense Fund
Dr. Peters' research focuses on helping vulnerable young people transition to adulthood domestically and internationally. His research examines child welfare services, judicial oversight and strategies to increase wellbeing for young people in state care..
 Dr. Kilgore's work focuses on family communication, foster/adoption studies, community engagement, student success, and retention.
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