Research Consortium Members
Grace Bagwell Adams, PhD, MPA
Quantitative Lead
Associate Professor
UGA College of Public Health
Katherine Rose Adams, PhD
Associate Professor
The University of North Georgia
College of Education
Daniel Gibbs, PhD, JD
Assistant Professor
UGA School of Social Work
David Meyers, EdD, PhD
Senior Public Service Associate
UGA Public Service and Outreach,
J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development
Erik C. Ness, PhD
Professor, Director
UGA Louis McBee Institute of Higher Education
Amy Salazar, PhD, LMSW
Associate Professor
Washington State University Vancouver
College of Agriculture, Human, and
Natural Resource Sciences
Kim Skobba, PhD
Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor
UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Lori Tiller, PhD
Qualitative Lead
Director, MA Nonprofit Management &
Leadership & Associate Director,
Institute for Nonprofit Organizations
UGA School of Social Work
Graduate Students:
Imani Callan, PhD student
UGA Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education
The Embark Georgia Research Consortium (EGRC) builds structured research and evaluation infrastructure at the intersection of higher education and foster care experience, translating findings into actionable guidance for campuses, child welfare agencies, and policymakers.
Research focuses on four key areas:
Here is what I would offer for the 4 areas:
1. Program Evaluation — Analyzing Education Training Voucher (ETV) utilization, enrollment patterns, and postsecondary outcomes for 1,116 Georgia foster youth (2015–2023).
2. Campus Capacity Building — Examining housing insecurity, food access, and the support service landscape for hidden populations across Georgia campuses (DPOCs).
3. Longitudinal Data Hub — Building and analyzing a comprehensive 10-year dataset linking DFCS, ETV, and National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) data for 6,000 youth.
4. Direct Service Programming — Evaluating summer programs, regional coalitions, and campus support interventions (mini-grants) to understand what works.
Research Highlights:
- 7 peer-reviewed articles since 2023
- Presentations at 6 national and multiple state conferences
- Guest editors of the Child Welfare (CWLA) special issue, Spring/Summer 2026
- Longitudinal dataset covering approximately 6,000 Georgia youth
- Data-receiving agreement with Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Explore related research and publications highlighting collaborative work on foster care, homelessness, and higher education.
