Lisa Berlin appointed Alison L. Richman Professor for Children and Families
Dean Judy Postmus has appointed Lisa J. Berlin, PhD, MS, to the Alison L. Richman Professorship for Children and Families at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW). This professorship, established in 2017 through the generous support of Arnold (Arnie) and Alison Richman, recognizes outstanding national leaders in advancing research related to children, youth, and families.
Lisa is a distinguished researcher with a passion for advancing "social justice for babies." Her research focuses on early child-caregiver attachment and programs/policies to support early parenting and child development, especially in marginalized communities. With more than 25 years of experience conducting attachment and intervention research across various disciplines, including human development, psychology, social work, and public health, she is at the forefront of research and service development for vulnerable infants, toddlers, and their families.
Lisa directs Compañeros en la Salud de los Niños/Partners in Children’s Health (CSN), a collaboration with Drs. Natalie Slopen of the Harvard School of Public Health and Tania Caballero of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Centro SOL (Salud/Health and Opportunity for Latinos), investigating the effects of an attachment-based parenting program on toddler’s emerging health outcomes in low-income Latino families in Baltimore. She has also led related initiatives, including a study of child care workers in Baltimore City and an evaluation of the Family Connects nurse home visiting program for newborns, conducted in partnership with the Family Tree and Sinai Hospital.
As the Editor of the Society for Research in Child Development Social Policy Report, Lisa leverages child and family research to support evidence-based policy development. Her own research findings have been published extensively in esteemed journals such as Child Development, Prevention Science, and Development and Psychopathology. Lisa holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University, and a B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College.
Dr. Berlin’s investiture ceremony will be held on November 8 from 4-6pm.
About the Alison L. Richman Professorship
The Alison L. Richman Professorship is dedicated to addressing the challenges facing children and families, and the named professor is recognized as a renowned national expert in their field. This esteemed position provides additional resources to support the appointee's research, scholarship, and travel for the dissemination of knowledge.
Alison Richman, for whom the professorship is named, received her B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her MSW from UM SSW in 1984. Her dedication to excellence in child and family services, as demonstrated through her work as an adoption specialist at Adoption Alliances based at the Jewish Family Services of Central Maryland, inspired her family to endow the professorship in her honor. Alison's impact extended beyond her direct service work, as she was one of the longest-serving members of the School's Board of Advisors and played a crucial role in founding and coordinating the Admissions Review Committee, advocating for numerous students throughout the years.