Associate Director for Policy and Translation
Director of Policy Initiatives
Owen’s focus is on the intersection between research and policy. She develops and implements strategies to increase and enhance interaction between the two. Her interests include identifying ways to institutionalize valuable interaction between researchers and policymakers for positive impact on disadvantaged and vulnerable children and families. Owen works with legislators, legislative staff, executive branch policy experts, and representatives of Duke and other universities to use research to inform and impact policy. One such effort includes the North Carolina Family Impact Seminar, which Owen directs.
Owen is the principal investigator of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Professional Development Initiative to enhance North Carolina’s system of professional development for teachers. She has served as a consultant to the UNC system and the ZSR Foundation on research-to-policy initiatives. Before joining the Center, Owen was a senior policy advisor to Governor James B. Hunt Jr. and the planning director for the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy.
A 2007 Eisenhower Fellow to South Africa where she focused on poverty alleviation strategies, Owen welcomes inquiries about potential South African partners in business and the non-profit and public sectors on a range of issues.
Education:
- M.P.A. Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government -
Recent Publications
- (2007).
Juvenile or Adult? Adolescent Offenders and the Line Between the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems. [pdf]
- (2005).
Reaching Out to Those in Need: A Guide to Establishing a Successful Disaster Relief Fund.
[887DisasterGuide.pdf"]
- J.W. Owen "Professional Development Initiative: Proposal for Action." November, 2004 [pdf]
